Fundamental Table Manners

Solid table manners are critically important in so many different areas of our lives these days: dating; socializing with friends; making new friends; family gatherings; business; work, and so on.

They are at the core of making good impressions on other people (especially important with so much business being done over lunch or dinner). Solid table manners really are a fundamental skill that can result in positive outcomes in many areas of your life! Make the effort to master your basic table manners, and the positives will flow from there!

So, with this in mind, I will share with you a few basic guidelines for good table manners! Some of these you may not have heard before; some will seem like common sense; and others may be a simple recap.

• Never talk with your mouth full - This one is obvious, but again, it seems a lot of people have forgotten even the most basic of table manners in this day and age.


• Chew with your mouth closed - Again, an obvious one that has been forgotten to some degree when you look around at other people eating.


• Don't tilt or squirm in your chair - Apart from the obvious spinal risks of tilting in your chair, it indicates a degree of boredom or frustration with the people around you. This might very well be the case, but don't show it!


• Keep the table and tablecloth as clean as possible - Do not put bones or anything on the table. Things that are not eaten should be put on your plate.


• Do not spit anything out - If there is something in your mouth that you cannot swallow, quietly - and subtly - put it in your napkin, then transfer it onto the edge of your plate and then continue on eating.


• Eat quietly. Do not slurp anything - NOTHING is more off-putting, and completely distracting than listening to someone who is eating loudly! It is one of those things that once you notice it, it's as if it becomes the loudest thing in the entire room and is impossible to ignore!


• Meals are to be slow, pleasant, leisurely occasions - Enjoy your food, as well as your companions. Make sure you talk, and at least appear to be thoroughly enjoying the conversation. At times (especially at business dinners), conversation can be boring or uninteresting to you - but NEVER let that show!


• Do not touch your nose, hair or teeth while at the table - All of these are again obvious, however, it is actually considered especially rude and disrespectful to play with your hair at the table, as this can be seen as encroaching on others' rights to a hygienic eating environment.


• After the meal, go to the restroom and clean your teeth if you need to - Do not do so either at the table or while you are in the company of your eating companions, even if you have left the table.

We have only touched on a select few guidelines here, and there are literally hundreds of little things that should - and should not - be done at the dinner table. To learn everything you will ever need to know about table manners and many, MANY other things related to all aspects of etiquette, make sure get your very own copy of my concise dining etiquette manual:

Dining Etiquette – The Concise Guide For Everyone!

...which will teach you all the table manners you will ever need to make a top-class impression on anyone on the other side of the dinner table! To get your very own copy, or for more information, simply click here to be taken to the order page.