With multiple forks, fancy place settings and too many different kinds of glasses to count, having proper etiquette can be overwhelming. Luckily, practicing a few simple rules makes perfect.
On Thursday, the BYU Student Alumni hosted the Professional Etiquette Dinner. The event was held in the Hinckley Alumni Center. Students and alumni were invited to the seventh annual event.
Erika Nash, BYU’s Student Alumni’s programs vice president, said this event seems to be the most popular for students. She said she believes this is a great way for students to have these types of experiences and an opportunity for alumni to give back. The student alumni’s mission is to cultivate the spirit of the Y, and Nash believes this event does just that.
The dinner, which students signed up prior to the event to attend, featured a four course meal and a lesson about proper etiquette during the meal. Students were seated at tables with alumni during the dinner.
Anna King, BYU’s former director of human development, was the night’s etiquette lecturer. King, whose interest in etiquette first started when she was teachers assistant in the Marriott Business School, lectured students on basic principles of etiquette in a professional setting. She covered topics from which fork to use, how to work a room and how to send proper thank you notes. One of the most important topic she emphasized was the importance of building strong relationships.
“Relationships drive the world,” King said. “If you have the ability to build strong relationships with co-workers and in your personal life, you have that much more power as an individual. The more comfortable you are with etiquette, the more confident you can be.”
King was able to talk guests through proper etiquette techniques while they were enjoying their meal. This provided students and alumni to have a hands-on experience with etiquette.
Matt Brigham, a junior from Los Altos, Calif., studying international business, heard about the event from the posters he saw on campus. Brigham thought it would be a useful event that could benefit him in the future.
“It’s important for students our age to learn how to eat properly in a formal setting,” Brigham said. “It’s a good business skill to acquire.”
King’s professional tips are beneficial to any student looking to improve their etiquette. However, the best advice King gave was simply to practice.
“The more you can do it [practice], the more comfortable you’ll be and then the more confident you’ll be,” King said.
