| To be

Courtesy and manners are essential to a developing career, but understanding and practicing greeting and eating etiquette says you have polish and class.

A family member of mine was interviewing for a sales job in the high tech industry. A component of the hiring process was to evaluate the candidates’ social performance in a cocktail and dinner setting. This experience emphasizes the importance of understanding basic etiquette that puts you at ease and helps you hold your own in such settings.

Greetings

Let’s start with basic greetings. When you walk into a meeting room of people you may not know, shake everyone’s hand with a smile and introduce yourself. The smile will help you establish instant rapport. Westerners expect a firm hand shake, but keep in mind that styles can vary abroad.

Dining and Cocktail Receptions

Some of the basic etiquette in dining and cocktail receptions that many of us know includes:

• Don’t reach across someone’s plate for the salt and pepper or anything else, ask that it be passed to you
• Don’t talk with your mouth full
• Don’t double dip—for example, dipping a chip into the salsa bowl at a cocktail table, biting it and then dipping it again
• Don’t overload load your plate at the buffet table
• And, never drink more than two alcoholic beverages at any work-related event—that is if you drink at all and only if you can easily handle two such beverages. Start with or switch to club soda with a lime or some other non-alcoholic beverage.

But, beyond the basics, there are a series of fabulous YouTube videos on dining—from how to place the napkin in your lap to how to signal the waiter that you’re finished and your plate can be removed. I encourage you to watch them all. I know I learned something.

Don’t underestimate the value basic etiquette can have on your career, if not now, then certainly in the future.

Do you have a related greeting or dining experience you'd like to share that others can learn from?