Dining Etiquette Tutorial Gives Students Plenty to Digest
Landing a job requires much more than good grades. The skills and knowledge acquired in the classroom will ultimately fuel your professional course, but the right handshake and a proper regard for table manners can separate you from the pack just as easily.
Rider students gained valuable insight into these often-untaught skills from Michele Pollard Patrick, a certified protocol officer and business etiquette consultant for more than 20 years, who shared her expertise at the Dining Etiquette Tutorial as part of the Senior Year Experience, sponsored by Alumni Relations and Career Services, on Monday, April 20, in the Bart Luedeke Center Fireside Lounge.
“Tonight, Rider is providing you with a competitive edge. Non-verbal signals are the most powerful way to communicate,” said Patrick, recognized as an expert in the field of business etiquette and protocol. “Greeting someone with a good handshake and making eye contact upon introductions makes you appear poised, confident and in control, and that is what employers want to see.”
Guiding the students, many of whom are set to graduate in a matter of weeks, through a simulated business lunch or dinner, Patrick covered a range of potential pitfalls ranging from soup to nuts – literally. “All rules of dining are based in three simple ideas,” she said. “Courtesy and respect for those at your table, safety and signals to your server.”
For instance, the polite practice of ladling soup away from you is a custom rooted in nothing more than safety, explained Patrick, who said popular but inappropriate alternatives like blowing on hot soup can result in a mess, or worse yet, a burning injury.
After demonstrating how to identify the proper forks, knives, spoons, glasses and plates, as well as the particulars of American versus Continental styles of dining, Patrick then delved into the finer points of business etiquette. An etiquette awareness quiz confronted students with situations that proved to be unfamiliar to many, such as on which shoulder to wear a name tag (your right, Patrick said, so it can be seen easily when shaking hands), which of the dinner is the appropriate time to discuss business (the dessert course, according to Patrick).
The response among students was enthusiastic. “I thought this was extremely helpful,” said junior Derek DeAndino, an International Business Major from Middletown, N.J. “I’ve got a lunch interview in two weeks, and I learned a lot tonight that is going to help me.”
Others simply appreciated the education in cultural differences. “The different styles of eating, with the American style, the Continental style, and even the Chinese customs, and how they all differ, was very interesting,” said Cara McGuigan, a junior Elementary Education and Psychology major from Little Egg Harbor, N.J.
Karen Moran, associate director of Alumni Relations, said the event was a critical piece of the Senior Year Experience. “The etiquette dinner really brought the programming for The Senior Year Experience full circle for our students” she said. “By being able to provide seniors with everything from résumé and job-search strategies to networking and dining etiquette all bundled in one program, we’re providing Rider seniors with the edge in this difficult employment and financial climate.”
The joint effort between Career Services and Alumni Relations proved to be a beneficial experience, and not only for students, according to Kelly Pedersen, director of experiential learning, in Career Services. “This partnership to support the Senior Year Experience has been nothing but positive this past year,” she said. “We’ve all heard the saying that it takes a village to raise a child – well, it also takes a village to bring meaningful programs to Rider seniors.”
Pedersen said she is looking forward to continuing the arrangement. “By collaborating with the Alumni Relations staff and Senor Year Experience representatives, we’ve been able to offer a host of programs and events, and have had the manpower not only to help plan the event, but market it as well. Our efforts have certainly benefited the many seniors who have participated, and we’re already looking forward to next year.”
