Take a Bite Out of Life!

The necessity for chewing bite-sized pieces is one of our favorite lessons to teach our students.

1. First, you will need 1 large marshmallow, 3 miniature marshmallows, and a napkin. 

2. Place your napkin in your lap.

3. Put the large marshmallow in your mouth and try to chew it politely while talking with your dinner partners. 

4. Put one miniature marshmallow in your mouth at a time and chew politely while talking with your dinner partners.

How did it go? Chances are you looked funny trying to chew the large marshmallow in one bite. Mini marshmallows are the perfect bite sized pieces. Chewing with bite sized pieces sets the perfect pace for being a great dinner conversationalist!

Making the Most Out of Dinner Conversation as told by George Washington in "Rules of Civility"

1. "If anyone comes to speak to you while you are sitting, stand up, though he be your inferior, and when you present seats, let it be to everyone according to his degree."

2. "Put not another bite into your mouth till the former be swallowed. Let not your morsels be too big for the jowls."

3. "Drink not nor talk with your mouth full, neither gaze about you while you are drinking."

Thankfully, the choice to sign up for ELI training is not hard!

96 days to the next Etiquette and Leadership Institute

"Train to be a Manners, Etiquette, Leadership and Character Coach/Consultant."

June 20 - 24, 2016

Call April McLean at 706.769.5150 to reserve your seat. 

The humble napkin

Napkins are one of those elements of etiquette that are completely practical: they keep your clothes and (in a pinch) your face clean. They were even more useful to our ancient ancestors, whose mealtimes resembled miniature baths.

Let's talk about cutlery first. Forks first appeared in 11th century Tuscany, where they were rejected by clergy and others who said that humans were meant to use their fingers while eating. Wealthy Tuscans ignored that advice, and eventually others followed suit — thought it took about 100 years for forks to be commonly accepted there.

Forks remained a novelty everywhere else until around the 18th century, with the French leading the way in using forks as a symbol of nobility. What did people use instead of forks? Knives, spoons, and their hands (showing good manners meant using the first three fingers instead of all five, avoiding using the ring finger and pinkie —talk about dainty!).

So you see, napkins were an absolute necessity to keep hands clean throughout a multi-course meal.

As you might expect, napkins used to be quite large—about the size of today’s bath towel. Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks used these extra large napkins along with flower- and herb-scented finger bowls, or small bowls with water. Have a bite, get your fingers wet, towel off.

Once forks became commonly used, there was less of a need to practically wash your hands at the dinner table, and napkins started getting smaller - the perfect size to keep in your lap.