Oct. 24, 2005

Table manners:
The new performance anxiety

Lorna Somers, vice-president of the McMaster University Foundation and director of development, will present Mastering Modern Manners, an interactive, five-course dinner designed to help everyone -- from students to executives -- master the nuances of business etiquette.

Hamilton, ON - Have you sat across from a prospective employer during a lunch interview trying desperately to figure out which knife to use? Have you been flummoxed by a fork? Stymied by a spoon?

Lorna Somers, vice-president of the McMaster University Foundation and director of development, understands the business of table manners in a global marketplace. Her interactive, five-course dinners were designed to help everyone -- from students to executives -- master the nuances of business etiquette.

Ms. Somers brings her unique presentation to Hamilton diners on November 3.

“Few people have been taught etiquette at home,” says Ms Somers. “I know executives who say they would never hire anyone without first taking a prospect to lunch. The business world is extremely diversified. More than ever, people need to know how to impress clients, and avoid cultural faux pas.”

A person from India, for instance, would be taken aback if you began eating with your left hand; a person from China would take offense if a tea spout was pointed toward him. Eating American style (in which the diner uses the fork and knife opposite to how the cutlery is laid on the table) is not considered de rigueur to Europeans. Somers says the most mannerly diners are the Portuguese.

Dining mistakes can, and do, occur regularly in our own culture. Water glasses and the tradition of toasting are prime examples.

“When it comes to toasting, everyone but the person being toasted raises their glass and drinks,” says Ms. Somers. “You never join your own toast.”

Diners who try to be helpful by piling up dirty dishes and cutlery for the wait staff are also guilty of using incorrect form, she says.

Mastering Modern Manners will be held Thursday, Nov. 3, at 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Celebration Hall (lower level of Kenneth Taylor Hall) at McMaster University.

Tickets are $15 for current McMaster students, $30 for all others, or $200 for a table of eight. The cost includes a five-course dinner, taxes, gratuities, and presentation. A cash bar is available. The event is open to McMaster alumni and the wider community. Diners must RSVP by phone at 905-525-9140 ext. 23900, or by e-mail at alumni@mcmaster.ca.

McMaster University, named Canada’s Research University of the Year by Research InfoSource, has world-renowned faculty, and state-of-the-art research facilities. McMaster's culture of innovation fosters a commitment to discovery and learning in teaching, research and scholarship. Based in Hamilton, the University has a student population of more than 23,000, and an alumni population of more than 115,000 in 128 countries.