There are all kinds of opportunities to memorize, such as dates, meeting the parents, lunch with the boss, let alone the holidays and festivals, plus more and more job interviews are being taken over a dinner table. From the beginning of time, the act of dining together has had a great social significance. A lack of training is betrayed more quickly at the table than anywhere else. Below are some general manners in social dinners that you can consult.

◇Traditionally, the fork is held horizontally, which is balanced by the first knuckle of the middle finger and the tip of the index finger while the handle is steadied by the thumb. The knife is used with the tip of the index finger which slightly presses out over the top of the blade to guide as you cut. They can be used either singly or in pair.

◇Hold the spoon by the handle and dip the larger end into your food. Scoop up and put into your mouth.

◇As soon as you sit down, open your napkin and put it on your lap. Don’t remove the napkin from your lap (except for use) until the end of the meal. That’s when the diners finish dinner, not just when you do!

◇Don’t clear spills with your own napkin and don’t pick up items that have dropped on the floor. You can use your napkin to prevent yourself from being disturbed by spills. Then, simply and politely ask your waiter to clean up and to bring you an alternative for the polluted napkin or dirty utensil.

◇Turn off your mobile phone or change it to silent or vibrate mode before sitting down to eat, and keep it in your pocket or purse. It is ill-mannered to answer a phone during dinner. If you must give or answer a call, excuse yourself from the table and go outside of the restaurant.

◇It is impolite to blow your nose at the dinner table. Excuse yourself to go to the washroom. Wash your hands before you return to the dining-room. If you cough, cover your mouth with your napkin to stop the circulation of germs and mute the noise. If your cough becomes uncontrollable, excuse yourself to go to the restroom. Wash your hands before you return to the dining-room.

◇There are some serious limitations regarding the use of knives at the table. The knife can never be pointed at anyone. A blade pointed outward indicates that you wish the person across from you harm!

◇The traditional place setting has the forks to the left and knives (always placed inward facing the plate) and spoons to the right. The silverw are is placed in order of use so that you can do as the rule “begin at the outside and work in” towards the plate!

◇Once silverware is taken up from the table it can never be put down on the table again. Place it on the outer edge of the plate between bites, but never put silverware in gangplank fashion, half on the table and half on the plate.

◇Begin dining only after everyone is served. For larger groups, such as banquets, it is traditional to start dining after four or five people have been served, or you get permission from those who haven’t been served yet.

◇The right way to eat bread is to break off a small piece of bread with your hands. If you like butter, spread some on a small piece. Then you continue to eat your bread in bite-size pieces. Avoid cutting pieces that need more than one bite to eat since you always want to get ready for conversation. You can’t do that with mouth full of food.

◇Butter, spreads, or dips should be transferred from the serving dish to your plate before smearing or eating.

◇Dishes are served from left to right. When a waiter serves you, food will be placed on your left, and the dish will be taken away from your right side when you’ve finished.

◇Never turn a wine glass upside down to refuse wine. It is more polite to let the glass be filled with the wine, but not draw attention. Otherwise, hold your hand over the wine glass to suggest that you don’t want any wine.

◇Never blow on a spoonful of soup to make it cool. Definitely do not lean forward and blow on soup in the bowl. You can fill your soup spoon by putting it in the bowl, sit up and bring the spoon up to your mouth. Never chew with your mouth open. No one would like to see soup being munched or hearing it being chewed noisily.

◇Use the fingers to pick up cookies, potato chips, small pickles, nuts, or candy. Use spoons to eat pudding or ice-cream.

◇Salt and pepper are always used together, even if someone asks you only for the salt. They are considered bound together in proper dining set.

◇Carry a stemmed glass by the stem! This is to avoid chilled drinks, such as white wine becoming warmed by your hand, but it is also used for containing non-chilled drinks.

◇Never use a toothpick or put on make up at the table.

◇Keep your elbows away from the table. If you put elbows on the table, you will lean against them and tend to become slouching. If you must lean on the table a good strategy is to hold a roll or piece of bread in your free hand and put part of your forearm on the table.

◇Don’t reach. It is impolite to hampers people from either eating or talking, just like standing in front of a TV with other people behind you. There is always the possibility of knocking glasses over or running your sleeve through someone’s mashed potatoes.

◇Don’t forget to say “please” and “thank you”. These are useful words in most situations but especially important at the table where common politeness, respect, and consideration are noticed by everyone present.

◇The placement of knife and fork when not used acts as a sort of signals, allowing the diner to show the degree to which he/she intends to pause in eating. Cutlery should always be placed on the plate during breaks between bites. If this is to be a very short time, there is no fixed pattern. For longer waits, perhaps because of a diverting twist in the table conversation, you should place the fork on the left and knife on the right, so that they cross over the center of the plate. If the diner prepares to pass his plate for a second serving, place the fork and knife parallel to each other on the right side of the plate, so that there is room for the food.

◇When you finished your dinner, your knife (blade turned inward) and fork should be put beside each other on the plate diagonally from upper left to lower right (11 to 5 if you consider your plate as a clock face). This signals to the waiter that you are finished. And don’t move your plate away or otherwise rearrange your dishes from their position when you finished.

◇Compliment the cook. Even if the food is perfectly terrible say something nice. You don’t have to tell lies, simply focus on the positive side of the burnt leg of lamb...“Gee, the sauce was sure tasty”. It is always pleasant to finish a dinner on a positive remark.