A local company that teaches youth etiquette classes is branching out to adults. Queen City Etiquette owner Dina Schmid says demand is increasing for business people to brush up on their manners, especially at the dining table."It's possible that someone is losing out on opportunities because of poor table manners and they may not even realize that," says Schmid. "It's all about having confidence in your ability to conduct yourself properly in the situation and not be worried that your etiquette, your manners, are getting in the way."
Schmid teaches private classes for businesses, but this is her first time offering a public class for adults.
She says it's a misconception to think of etiquette as old fashioned or stuffy. "(People) think back to Emily Post, and they think it's all about which fork to use when. Really it's about a lot more than that. It is about having the skills that you need to be successful in today's world."
Attendee Ryan Higgins is hoping for a refresher and to learn some new tips.
"I think it can really benefit you from a business aspect as well as a life aspect," Higgins says. "I definitely think it's worth checking out and see what happens from there."
As an accountant with Cincinnati Bell, Higgins says he often finds himself at meetings involving food. He'd like to approach those events with a sense of calm rather than worrying about what to order or if he's doing something incorrectly.
"I'm hoping that this will set me up to succeed when I sit down with somebody so I'm not overthinking the meal and can actually focus on what's being said in the conversation."
Besides brushing up manners, attendees also learn how to handle a variety of "dining dilemmas" like how to react when something goes wrong.
What are some of the most common etiquette mistakes you might be making? A big one is eating before everyone at the table is served. Another is holding your silverware incorrectly. Bread is also a big problem.
"People are eating their bread incorrectly and leaving behind a large mess," Schmid says. "If you use proper etiquette for dining, you actually create very little mess and you will be a lot neater in eating."
The first Business and Formal Dining Etiquette class is March 8.
