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All of you have attended business luncheons — stomach in knots, nerves frayed, and you're not even the speaker.
You might be intimidated by the business meal itself. For instance, you would like some bread and a sip of water, but do you know where you place your bread? Or, which glass do you drink from? If you're unsure, you can be overwhelmed with worry about embarrassing yourself. However, a few tips can get you through business meals smoothly.
If you take your index finger and pinch your thumb with it, you form the letter b on your left hand; your right hand forms the letter d. Heather Smith of Mass Mutual Financial Architects uses this to remind herself that b stands for bread and d for drink. You can easily do this undetected under the table and end your confusion about which plate or glass is yours.
If you have food allergies, call ahead to see what will be served. If you cannot eat the listed meal, ask for a substitution. For those of us who intend to call but don't quite make it, find a server as soon as you arrive and ask to make the switch. This way your meal will come out with everyone else's and you will not wait for an alternative while everyone else eats.
Once you are finished with your meal, place the knife and fork across the plate to make the waitstaff aware that you are finished.
If coffee is being served and you do not wish to have any, simply turn your cup upside down.
A final piece of event etiquette is to turn your cell phone to vibrate or off as soon as you arrive to the event. Nothing is more embarrassing than your phone ringing in the middle of the presentation.
Using these few, easy tips can make your next business meal — or perhaps your first such event — less stressful and more enjoyable.
Luyk is CEO of Midnight Janitorial Inc. She may be contacted through her company's website, www.midnightjanitorial.com. This column is written by members of the Rochester Women's Network (www.rwn.org).