Manners Please

Keys and secrets to life what are they? Respect, Kindness, compassion, leadership, fairness, loyalty, happiness. In my eyes these intangible items mold life into something worth living. However there is one common element that link them all. … Know yet? ethics morals are both good answers but its something more tangible. Manners. Simple, but so true. Manners play a major part in all of areas listed above. Think about it … you are in a store and arguing loudly start blurting obscenities causing a scene. After a scenario such as this you cause disruption to people around you and have more then likely hurt someone’s feelings (if no one in the crowd then certainly the person you were arguing with). Now if Momma had taught this person to use and inside voice when in public, not to cause a scene, talk things out and use the old rule “if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all” the situation would have been much neater. The point is by using manners you are respecting not only the person you are with but also the person you are talking to.

As a child grows they are taught to be (or hopefully taught to be) proper and polite. Manners are taught over time. Usually by the time you are a senior in college you understand most manners. There are some manners however that a person in college is not familiar with. Specific manners or just very proper manners used during dinner interview are, at least in our generation, not normally used in everyday dining. Our career center hosts a Dine n’ Shine event in which we eat a nice meal and a speaker explains how to dress for interviews and also how to give a good dining interview. Now I have always considered myself pretty well mannered I put my napkin in my lap always pass the bread before taking it and never talk with my mouth full. But there are a few things that I learned that I did not know. For instance, name tags are always worn on the right. A great misconception is to place it on the left. This happens especially with right handed people. Also the napkin goes on your lap the very first thing folded on the diagonal with the widest part on the upper portion of your lap closest to your body. Luckily I have always done that but I never knew that it was an actual “rule”. The biggest thing I learned was to take small bites. I have an awful pride in how fast I can finish a meal. I have just learned to eat fast-on the go. taking small bites though allow for you to talk more and also at a moments notice of a question is asked. It also helps to make you not look gluttonous and eat everything. There is also a trick to introducing someone. You say the most important persons name first. For example if you and your boss were meeting a client the most important person is the client. So you say client so and so this is my boss blah blah and … obviously you would use names and not client and boss.

So you see just knowing what is the proper way of introducing someone keeps you respectful, and everyone happy. Understanding how to properly pass the bread and the salt keeps you kind. Eating slow and small bites keeps everyone happy so they don’t see your food all over you and it is just respectful. In the end manners are an important factors of making life happy.