There are rules for every occasion and every country: cutlery, toast, amount of food to leave on the plate are all elements that should not be underestimated.
WHEN IT COMES OUT.
Due out in April 2022 is the essay “International Business Etiquette” by Sibyl von der Schulenburg with a series of tips and practical cases for not making mistakes during business meetings at breakfast, lunch or dinner.
When the parties to an interesting business negotiation move from the meeting room to a restaurant, there is a good chance that everyone will come out satisfied.
Doing business at the table is an art that must be learned because it has different rules depending on the occasion and the culture of the participants.
THE AUTHOR’S STATEMENT
Sibyl von der Schulenburg, a writer and entrepreneur in the telecommunications field, also addresses this issue within an essay entitled “International business etiquette,” due out in mid-April 2022 from Golem Editions.
“Meetings with business purposes,” Sibyl von der Schulenburg points out. can be done at breakfast, lunch and dinner but each has its own peculiarities and requires some attention as to etiquette. The breakfast meeting (business breakfast) is typical of the North American continent, lasts forty to fifty minutes on average, and generally involves only the operational levels except on special occasions. The goal is to reach agreements that have already begun or to work out details on the input of all parties. You start talking business right away, even on the street if you do it together.
THE WORKING LUNCH
The working lunch, on the other hand, also often sees tactical managerial levels seated at the table and is the most frequent of table meetings.
It can last from one to two hours, in many of the Mediterranean and Latin countries even longer.
The goal essentially depends on the circumstances, sometimes it is just a way to get to know each other better, to ease a tension or to create a socializing atmosphere especially when the participants are from different cultures.
At the business lunch table, many opportunities are given to clear paths and get rid of preconceptions.
It is good to wait until everyone has ordered before starting with the business talk. Finally, the business dinner (business dinner) also involves strategic levels and often there is no business talk at all but, if you must, it is good to wait until dessert or coffee time.
The goal is often to create personal bridges between the top elements of the companies, study each other, witness benevolence and trust.
It is the only table meeting that sometimes includes the presence of spouses, but it depends a lot on the culture of the participants.”
What rules apply to these meetings?
There is an old, old rule of good manners that we always tend to forget: never show up at a table meeting with an empty stomach. Hunger is the enemy of ratio and often overrides inhibitory brakes. Adventuring on food is to be avoided at all costs; one does not sit down at the table to feed oneself but to enjoy a culinary experience together.
THE USE OF OBJECTS
The proper use of every object at the table is still an unknown for many, and bad habits come out after the first effects of alcohol, and then you see cutlery resting on the edges of plates and fingers grabbing chicken.
But even if one is familiar with Central European etiquette, when one is in other parts of the world, one is displaced.
The American shredding the steak before putting away the knife and passing the fork in the right hand may be surprising: it reminds one of meat cut into chunks by one’s mother, and to a European it may seem rude to keep one’s hand free under the table. Even at their place, etiquette has moved closer to European etiquette, but some old customs still remain.
In China, on the other hand, one must remember to always leave something on the serving plates otherwise the host will feel obliged to order more food; one should not, then, pour oneself a drink, but always to one’s neighbors.
Above all, it is good not to leave the sticks planted in the rice inside the bowl: it is a symbol of death and a Mafia gesture of threat.
In Japan, it is best not to toast by exclaiming “cheers!” as this risks eliciting general laughter or awkward silence: they call “cheers” the male prominence; one should not feed someone with chopsticks or leave them on plates, as these are elements of the funeral ritual.
In Thailand people eat from communal plates and in India they use their hands, but now everywhere in the world Western guests traveling on business are made comfortable with individual plates and sturdy cutlery.
One particular piece of advice is offered to women: do not take food from your fork using your teeth to save your lipstick; even our etiquette forbids it.
“We must remember,” Sibyl von der Schulenburg adds. that great results are often achieved during the parting, when perhaps one is already on the road ready for a handshake or a bow. In that moment of parting, if all went well, opportunities are given to reinforce an idea, establish new meetings or open new doors “.
