Day 23: Leading the Way to Influence

Proverbs 23:1-3

When you go out to dinner with an influential person,
mind your manners:

Don’t gobble your food, don’t talk with your mouth full. And don’t stuff yourself;
bridle your appetite.

Principle

Respect yourself by your conduct; respect others with good manners.

We live in a very casual time. The workplace’s “Casual Friday” has turned into casual every day. However, there are occasions that require men to conduct themselves with decorum, and rightly so. One of the passions of a FivestarMan is to be gallant in relationships – knowing how to conduct ourselves with good manners is part of being a gallant man.

Table Manners of a Gallant Man:

1. He washes his hands before coming to the table.
2. He is properly groomed and dress appropriately for the occasion.
3. He never tilts his chair at the table.
4. He does not overload his plate. He bridles his appetite.
5. He eats slowly, chews with his mouth closed.
6. He always treats those who serve him with dignity and respect, cordially saying, “Thank you.”
7. He keeps his conversational tone and volume at a respectable level. He does not dominate the conversation.
8. He never answers his phone or is distracted by his phone at the table. If you must, excuse yourself, step outside and take the call. However, that should be only upon an emergency situation.
9. He does not reach across the table.
10. He is seated with good posture and does not slouch at the table.
11. He does not clean his fingernails with the fork. (I actually saw a man do this.)
12. He does not use a toothpick at the table.

I highly recommend that if your profession requires you to dine with influential people that you invest in an etiquette coach.

Remember:

Represent yourself with dignity. Lead the way to influence. Click To Tweet

Read Proverbs Chapter 23


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