How to Be Prepared for a Business Dinner

Whether you are in charge of planning a business dinner or if you have been invited to attend one, there are some things that you should know to ensure that the meeting goes off without a glitch. Business dinners are very important and therefore you have to make sure that you are completely aware of any cultural differences or any other problems that could arise, before they do.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• A restaurant that has top quality food and dependable service

How to Be Prepared for a Business Dinner

1. Seating is very important during a business dinner. If a maitre d' seats you, then you should always let your dinner guest precede you to the table. However, if you are seating yourself then you should take the lead. Always give your guest the preferred seat.
2. Eating begins for you after the guest takes his first bite of food. Wait until the guest opens his napkin and places it on his lap before you do the same.
3. Signal the waiter by closing your menu and laying it down on the table. While this usually is enough to get the waiter to the table, there may be times when you have to signal them in an different manner but always be discrete.
4. Select silverware from the outside and work your way in. The salad fork is the farthest fork from your plate. Continue to work inward.
5. Pay the bill if you were the one who invited the guest to dinner or if you are representing your organization. Remember that the standard tip is 15%-20% of the food and alcohol bill.
6. Send a thank you note immediately after the meal. Mention something specific about the dinner that personalizes the note.

Tips & Warnings

• If your guest(s) are from a different culture then you might want to do a quick search on the Internet to find out if there is anything specific that you should or should not be doing in order to not be offensive to anyone.