Business cocktail receptions are about business. Follow the brief guidelines below and you will find yourself moving with confidence from one excellent business opportunity to the next at your next business event.
- Hold your drink or food in your left hand.
- Your right hand must be clean, dry and available for shaking hands.
- There is no gracious way to juggle cocktail party food.
- The foods served at these events are called hors d’oeuvres or canapés. They are small snacks such as cheese, meat, or vegetables. They may be served on a cracker, a miniature piece of toast, or on a little piece of bread.
- Hors d’oeuvres may be eaten with fingers or a utensil.
- Hors d’oeuvres may be presented on a plate, or you may be given a paper cocktail napkin when you are served.
If this is a business event and there is a photographer wandering around taking pictures, you may not want to be snapped holding an alcoholic beverage.
Follow these simple guidelines and you will always appear well-schooled and competent in business and social manners.
Excerpts of blog taken from the book: Hospitality Management – People Skills & Manners on and off the Job. Copyright © 2015 Lyn Pont, PhD
— Isadore Sharp, chairman and founder, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
“Pont’s book is a must-read for anyone considering a career in hospitality.”
See the book at: www.HospitalityManners.com
Visit Lyn at: www.MannersForBusiness.com