No matter it is just a birthday party or a formal dinner party, table manners are something which portrays your personality in front of your family or colleagues. There are two reasons for learning table manners. One reason is to make people around you more comfortable and another reason is to keep ourselves away from any kind of embarrassment. It is necessary to feel confident while sitting around a table and having your meal with family or with colleagues. Let’s learn some of the dining table etiquettes that everyone should follow.

Never start your meal before the arrival of the host.

Always wait for your host to join you.

Always thank your host before you leave.

Always bid bye and thank your host for such a warm welcome and delicious meal.

Always place your fork and knife in the center of your plate after you finished eating.

Done? If yes, then keep your knife and fork in the center of the plate.

Never lick your spoon or plate.

Never ever… I am repeating again never ever lick your spoon or your plate.

Try and match your eating pace with others.

Maybe you have a habit of eating too fast or too slow, but when sitting and eating with other people, try to match their eating speed.

Always look inside your glass instead of looking over your glass.

While drinking water, don’t look others from over your glass, instead look inside the glass.

In case you need to go to the washroom in the middle of your meal, keep your napkin on your chair.

This is one of the important manners everyone should learn. Always place your napkin on the chair in case you need to go to the washroom in between your meal.

Never place your elbows on the dining table.

Never put your elbows on the dining table.

Don’t add salt or pepper to the food before tasting it.

Don’t be a chef of your own. Taste the food and then add salt or other spices if needed. 😉

Don’t drink and chew your food simultaneously.

Yeah! Never do that. For example, finish your Pizza and then drink your soft drink.

Keep your mobile phone away from you while eating.

Mobile and Food :(…Nah…Bad combination. Keep your phone away from you while having your meals.

Never use your finger to take out food on your plate.

Never use your finger to take out the food. I mean, you can use fork, knife or spoon for this.

Hold the knife and the fork with handles in the hand, thumb underneath and forefinger on top.

This is the correct way to hold the knife and fork.

Always pass food to the person who is sitting to your right but it is not a rule that you cannot pass the food to the person sitting on your left.

This is a manner to pass the food to the person who is sitting to your right, but that doesn’t mean you refuse to pass the food to the person who is sitting to your left.

Keep your mouth closed while chewing the food.

Don’t open your mouth while chewing. It’s a bad habit.

After picking up the silverware from the table, always put it on your plate.

Put the silverware directly on your plate once you have picked them up from the table.

Always pass the salt and pepper together.

If someone asks you to pass the salt, then it’s your responsibility to pass pepper along with it and vice versa. Salt and Pepper…Always together. 😉

Wait for your food to cool down instead of blowing it and splitting it on others. 

Don’t blow your food. Let it cool down.

Follow these rules while having a meal with your family or your colleagues.