Leave the table to blow your nose, always drink with the right hand and keep your phone in your car.
These are just a few “dos and don’ts” that about 70 Ohio University students learned yesterday at a dinner etiquette workshop. Guru Deborah Thomas-Nininger instructed the participants during a four-course meal. Nininger founded DTN Productions International, a company that teaches people about international and domestic etiquette.
The workshop mainly covered dining etiquette and other “soft skills,” which are important social skills that potential employers in ‘Corporate America’ look for when hiring, she said.
“My clients range from the AT&Ts to the Coca-Colas, to the Hondas, to just pick a bank,” Nininger said. “Whether it’s a law firm or health care or manufacturing, everything I’m going to share with you tonight is relevant, regardless of where your career paths and where your specific major is taking you.”
Many students asked questions about etiquette involving passing food, salad dressing and sugar packets around the table and when someone can eat the last piece of bread.
“You don’t want to come across as the obviously starving college student,” Nininger said. “Don’t have more than two pieces of bread.”
Although students should remember that the meal is an interview, they should also take the time to see if the employer is a good fit for them, Nininger said.
The Office of Career Services, which provides career development assistance to students through advising and programming, sponsored the workshop.
Despite a lack of marketing and advertising, the office sold out of tickets in the first week and had to add an additional table to accommodate single students, said Ali Woodworth, a graduate assistant in the office and workshop organizer.
“We had a lot of student groups that bought tables,” Woodworth said. “The Dean of Students’ office and the Vice President for Student Affairs also distributed tickets out to various student leaders on campus.”
Because of the interest in the workshop, the office plans to host another one in the fall, Woodworth said.
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