Food Finesse - How do I eat that food?

Food Finesse Since you’ll be eating for the rest of your life, you should be confident while you are eating! Here are a few guidelines for some specific foods: Apples and Pears: In casual situation, eat fruit with your fingers. Bacon: If crisp, it’s a finger food. If limp, use a knife and fork. Baked Potato: With a knife, slit the potato and push the ends toward the center with your fingers. Add butter, sour cream, and whatever else you like. Bananas: At dinner, cut, peel, and eat with fork. On a picnic, peel and eat monkey style. Barbecued Ribs: These are definitely a finger food, but nothing is finger lickin’ good. Bread, Rolls, Muffins, Biscuits: Break off a small piece; butter and eat only this much at a time. Don’t butter or cut the whole roll. Break and butter your bread over your bread plate to keep crumbs where they belong. Butter: Butter is placed on your bread plate, if you have one; if not, put the butter on your dinner plate. Celery, Carrot Sticks, Pickles: Eat with your fingers. Cheese Spread: Spread a little on a cracker; don’t weigh it down. Corn on the Cob: Butter, salt, and eat a few rows at a time. Butter drooling down your chin isn’t a pretty sight, so avoid overdoing it. Crackers: Sure, why not… put them in your soup, a few at a time. Large crackers should be eaten separately. Cupcakes and Brownies: Break and eat with your fingers. Dip: Dip the munchie only once before it enters your mouth. No double dipping! If the dip is on your plate, you may dip and dip and dip. French Fries: These are a finger food. Dip them into the catsup; rather than pouring catsup all over your fries. Use a fork if on main dining plate or if covered in gravy. Fried Chicken: It’s generally a finger food, but follow your host or hostess. Grapes: Cut or break off a bunch, but eat one at a time using your fingers. Gravy or Sauce: Pour it on top of whatever it’s meant for. Don’t have everything on your plate drowning in gravy. Hamburgers and Hot Dogs: Eat with your fingers. Add your toppings, but don’t overdo do it or they will get messy. Jellies (Mint, Apple, Cranberry): Spoon them onto your plate next to the meat. Take a little on your fork and eat it with the meat. Olives: Eat with your fingers. The olive pit is removed from your mouth with cupped fingers. Pizza: Hold a piece in your fingers, curling up the sides to avoid losing the filling. Use a fork if gooey or if it has lots of toppings. Popsicles and Ice Cream Bars: Keep the paper on the bottom until you are finished. Pound Cake: Use your fingers to break and eat. If you add topping, use a fork or spoon. Salad: Use your salad fork if it is a separate course. Use your dinner fork if it is part of your entrée. You may cut large pieces of lettuce with a knife (leave your knife on your salad plate) Shrimp Cocktail: Dip the shrimp into the cocktail sauce, using your seafood fork or use your fingers if the tail is on. (An entrée of Fried or broiled shrimp with the tail on or off should be eaten with a fork) Soup: Tilt the spoon away from you. When you get to the bottom, you may also tilt the bowl away from you. If your soup is too hot, be patient it will cool. Just make sure you don’t blow on it. If the soup is served in a cup with handles, pick it up and drink from it. Never ever slurp. Spaghetti: With your dinner fork, wind a few strands at a time by putting the tines down on the plate and bring it to your mouth (or use a pasta spoon to hold the pasta to the fork). Do not cut. Sticky Cake: Use a fork. Strawberries: Large strawberries may be eaten whole. Grasp the stem and take a couple of bites. Leave the stem on your plate. Sushi: May be eaten with your fingers, but mastering chopsticks will make you look like a pro. Tacos: Hold the taco in your fingers and eat from one side only. Watermelon Slice: A large slice should be cut to bite size with your knife and fork. Use cupped fingers to remove the seeds and leave them on your plate. And, how is food served? Food is served from the left and removal from the right. Note: People seated together always introduce themselves to each other as a sign of courtesy and respect, even when they expect to conduct separate conversations. Bon appétit!

The Dining Do's

Like it or not – “Table Manners” are the single most important benchmark when referring to "Good Manners." We are offering some "Table Do's" today to help you feel confident at your next business or social dining event. We also added a picture of a full table setting for your review. Dining Do’s • Sit up straight, but not stuffy. Your forearm may rest on the table if there is room and your elbows may also rest there in between courses. • Put your napkin on your lap. Use it. Place it on the table, not the chair, if you have to get up during a meal and when you are finished. • Wait for your host or hostess to begin eating or give a signal to begin. • Serve food from the left and remove from the right. Drinks are served and removed from the right. • Bring the food to your mouth, not your mouth down to the food. • Pass both the salt and pepper (one in each hand) even when someone asks for just one. • Break your bread, one piece at a time, butter and eat. • Place a soup spoon, teaspoon or iced tea spoon on the saucer under it. Nix the noise while stirring. • Pick up a dropped utensil at someone’s home (surely the hostess will notice and get you a clean one). Leave it on the floor at a restaurant and ask for another. • Remove a seed, an olive pit, a bone or a piece of gristle from your mouth with your cupped fingers. Hide it under something on your plate, not on the table or in your napkin. • Wipe your nose at the table, with a handkerchief or Kleenex if necessary, but never on your napkin. If you have to blow, excuse yourself and go to the restroom. • Eat finger foods with your fingers, but then use your napkin because nothing is “finger lickin’ good”. • Tilt the soup spoon away from you, like a ship going out to sea, and then bring it up to your mouth. • Eat what you can but don’t make an issue of what you “don’t like” or “can’t eat”; say only “No, thank you” when declining food. Please note these comments are for U.S. dining etiquette. Each culture has different ways of showing "good table manners." If you are heading to another country reach out and ask us. We will help you find out how to fit into any new cultural setting.

The Dining Don'ts

Like it or not – “Table Manners” are the single most important benchmark when referring to "Good Manners." We are offering some Table Don'ts which can be as important as Table Do's. Take these to heart and you will sure to impress! Table Manners Don’ts Don’ts • Chew or talk with your mouth open. • Slurp, smack, blow on hot food, crunch on ice, or make any other unpleasant noises. • Hold a utensil like a shovel. • Pick your teeth, apply lipstick or make-up at the table. • Take a sip of a drink while still chewing food (unless you’re choking). • Cut up all your food at once - only 2 or 3 cuts of meat at a time. • Use your utensil as a serving utensil, or put a serving utensil in your mouth. • Put a utensil on the table once it has been used; place it on a plate. • Push your plate away or stack your plates when you have finished eating. • Execute the boardinghouse reach rather than asking someone to pass you an item. • Eat from someone else’s plate. • Leave the table without saying “excuse me”. • Bring your cell phone or computer to the table. Please note these "don'ts" are related to U.S. table manners. Headed somewhere outside the U.S. and want to know the do's and don'ts of dining etiquette in that country? Just ask us. Marty@mannerspro.com or follow us on instagram or twitter @mannerspro for ongoing tips.

How to Craft Your Killer Elevator Pitch

Last week we told you what a good elevator pitch entails - now we tell you how to get there. 

·       Write down what you do. Write it several different ways. Try writing it at least 10-20 different ways. Don't edit yourself at all. You will edit later. This first step is for generating ideas. Don't hold back. Ideas can be goofy, serious, wild, funny, or conservative. It doesn't matter. The goal is to get at many ideas as possible down on paper.

·       Write a very short story that illustrates what you do for people. If necessary, the story can be long. You will boil it down later. Paint a picture with words.

·       Write down your objective or goal.Do you want to make a sale, gain a prospect, enlist support for an idea, earn a referral, or something else?

·       Write 10-20 action statements. This is a statement or question designed to spur the action associated with your goal.

·       Record yourself. You can use Jott if you don't have a recording device. Jott is a free phone based service that translates your messages into text as well as providing an online link to the original audio.

·       Let it sit. Come back to what you've written with fresh eyes and ears the next day or later on in the same day.

·       Highlight the good stuff. Listen and read through what you've recorded and written. Then either highlight or circle the phrases that hook you with clear, powerful, and visual words. Obviously not all the words will fall into these categories. You still need connector words, but you want them to be as few as possible.

·       Put the best pieces together. Again you'll want to write down several versions of this much tighter pitch. Tell us what you do and why people should want to do business with you. Include elements from your story if you can fit it in.

·       Record these new ones. 

·       Do a final edit cutting as many unnecessary words as possible. Rearrange words and phrases until it sounds just right. Again, the goal is 30-60 seconds maximum.

·       Dress Rehearsal. Run it by as many people as you can get to listen to you. Get feedback from colleagues, clients you trust, friends and family.

·       Done for now. Take your final elevator pitch and write it down. Memorize and practice it until it just slides off your tongue naturally.

·       Continue to improve. Over time, always be on the listen for phrases that you think could make your elevator pitch more clear and impactful. And then test it out. Every once in a while you will probably benefit by starting from scratch because things always change: you, your business, your goals, and your clients' needs.

Written by K. Stone, the author of Life Learning Today

Resources: 

·       You Know What Your Company Does. Can You Explain It in 30 Seconds? By Alison Stein Wellner at Inc. Magazine provides a case study of this process.

·       How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less by Milo O. Frank is a great resource for clear concise communications in general.

Essential Elements of a Powerful Elevator Pitch

Are you ready in 10-20 seconds to tell someone what you are about in business? Can you make that pitch in the length of an elevator ride?

Tips to your great elevator pitch...

1.     Concise. Your pitch should take no longer than 30-60 seconds.

2.     Clear. Use language that everyone understands. Don't use fancy words thinking it will make you sound smarter. Your listener won't understand you and you'll have lost your opportunity to hook them.

3.     Powerful. Use words that are powerful and strong. Deliver the "Sis-Boom-Bang" to grab their attention!

4.     Visual. Use words that create a visual image in your listeners mind. This will make your message memorable.

5.     Tell a Story. A short story, that is. A good story is essentially this: someone with a problem either finds a solution or faces tragedy. Either type of story can be used to illuminate what you do.

6.     Targeted. A great elevator pitch is aimed for a specific audience. If you have target audiences that are vastly different, you might want to have a unique pitch for each.

7.     Goal Oriented. A kick-ass elevator pitch is designed with a specific outcome in mind. What is your desired outcome? You may have different pitches depending on different objectives. For instance do you want to: make a sale, gain a prospect, enlist support for an idea, or earn a referral.

8.     Has a Hook. This is the element that literally snags your listener's interest and makes them want to know more. This is the phrase or words that strike a chord in your listener.

Back to school etiquette rules part 2

We discussed some great etiquette tips to go over with your children during this back to school period. We will finish those thoughts today.

1) Respect Your Peers - by the time most kids get to school they know not to take things from other people and to let everyone have a "turn."  These rules should be translated to the classroom setting - like don't take others homework or snacks and let each person touch the pet turtle being passed around. 

2) Play Nicely - this further echoes the respect point above but can go a little deeper. Even if a child does not like someone they can be nice to them.  You can also emphasize following safety rules on places like the playground so that no one gets hurt. 

3) Classroom Behavior - you should stress to your child there will be new rules in classrooms that may be unfamiliar to them. They are there to help everyone learn and stay safe. Stress that the teacher and principal are in charge and that you should do as they say. 

4) Accepting Differences - make sure your child knows there is a wide range of differences among students in their classes. Some of the things they will encounter are different abilities, religions, races, types of families and living situations. 

For what it's worth these tips can also help us adults in an office, nonprofit, church, etc. situation. As I wrote this post, I had to look in the mirror to make sure these were ideals and actions  I was pursuing each day. What we know is that it's no easy task to do these things all of the time and practicing good manners should be a lifelong commitment.  

Back to School Etiquette Rules - Part 1

This is a hectic time of year for many families as we get kids back into the swing of a school schedule and school responsibilities. This presents a great opportunity to talk to your kids about some etiquette tips that will help them this school year and into their future!

1) Respect time - tell your children what time school starts and explain the importance of honoring that by arriving on time. Being late is disruptive to everyone in the class. However, it isn’t wise to show up too early because the teacher may not be prepared. 

2) How to address elders or those in authority - If your child hasn’t yet learned how to address adults in authority, explain that teachers should be called Miss, Mrs., Ms., or Mr. with their last names. You can reinforce this by addressing the teachers in the same way to prevent confusion for your child. Children (and adults) need to understand that the use of the proper title shows respect.

3) Cleanliness - Express how important it is to be clean and dressed appropriately for school. This includes bathing, washing hands after eating, and brushing teeth. Cleanliness also can apply to their cubby or desk space - keeping this clean will help them learn to keep a tidy work space in the future and lead to less lost homework in the present!