Etiquette Dinner with the New Fellows

When we all sit down at the dinner table, our main priority is eating the meal provided in front of us. However in the world of politics and business, dinner often means discussions, debates and ironing out deals and your etiquette in those settings can mean all the difference. This past Wednesday us new Shucker Fellows took on dinner etiquette in a formal yet pleasant dinner with business expert and Furman alumni, Shannon Wilson.

The evening started out lightheartedly with jokes and discussions on the etiquette of shaking hands and making introductions, a task us Shucker Fellows grasped too easily. Once the dinner began however, so did the complicated instructions from Mrs. Wilson. Where to place your fork, how fast to eat, when you know you can begin eating, and which bread plate is your bread plate were just a few of the many topics us Fellows took on head to head.

However, no battle was too difficult for us and by the final course, a delicious slice of a cake I forgot to ask the flavor of, we had conquered the many skills we needed to be successful in any etiquette situation we may be faced with. Mrs. Wilson was armed with knowledge of how to place your silverware to signal your server, to the differences between American and Continental style eating (there’s a lot by the way).


Overall, us Shucker Fellows had an amazing night with Shannon Wilson and the other staff that helped us with this important knowledge and on behalf of all Shucker Fellows, I would personally like to thank them for their time and efforts. In this world the meaning of etiquette seems to be slipping away but in the words of Shannon Wilson, “Etiquette is not going away any time soon and it’s so important to be positive you know how to use it.”


Thanks,
Payton Isner