Hey friends welcome to Skillopedia - the place to learn skills for the real world. You are
with me Niharika and in today's session we are gonna learn how to be sociable at the
dinner table. Meal times are vital for family bonding and for developing social skills.
So whether you are dining with your family members or with your friends or with your
peers it's important to be great at your social skills. Have you noticed these days technology
is taken over meal times. Have you noticed people are always buried in their phones.
Yes, they always have their heads buried in their phone. So what's the point. You are
wasting your time and energy. So which are the social skills that are important these
days, well that's what we are gonna have a look at.
Okay, so lets start with certain things that you need to avoid that can be offensive at
the dinner table. SO the very first thing that you need to avoid is chewing the food
with the mouth open. Yes, people tend to do that. Well, the moment they take a bite, they
chew it with their mouth open. Would that be right? Do you think that comes out well?
Definitely not, it's quite offensive. Imagine I am sitting with you at the dinner table,
I take a bite of my food and then I chew it with my mouth open, would you like that? So
if you are doing that, please avoid it. The second thing that you need to avoid is speaking
with mouth full. What's the need? It's not necessary that you need to talk or make a
point when you are eating. So if you have food in your mouth, please do not utter a
single word. Finish your food and then go ahead and talk. It's not necessary that you
need to talk with your mouth full. So quit doing that. Let's have a look at another thing
that you need to quit doing. Stop reaching for food which is not close to you. SO for
example you are at the dinner table and it's a huge dinner table with lots of food on the
table and lets say you want to refill your plate with some more rice but the bowl of
rice is pretty away from you, it's not close to you. So what are you gonna do? Are you
gonna get out of your seat and try to reach for the bowl? Definitely not, that's offensive.
Well what you can do is, if it's not close to you then the person sitting close to the
bowl of rice please ask him or her to pass it on for you. Yes, that's the right way and
that shows good manners.So do not reach out for food which is away from you just request
someone to pass it on to you. Okay, then the last thing that you need to keep in mind
is avoid using a toothpick in front of people. Well, digging your teeth is pretty private
affair. DO not do it in front of people. I have noticed people, when they are walking
out of the restaurant they are digging their teeth. Wow. that's offensive! So if you do
that, please quit doing that, just go to a washroom and then either rinse your mouth
or use a toothpick, but do not use it front of people.
SO what's the next thing that you need to do at the dinner table? Well, be courteous.
When you are courteous and you let other speak, it shows your good manners. It shows how friendly
you are and how concerned you are for other people. SO let's say you are dining with your
friends or with your family members, let's be courteous. Let's ask them that how was
their day and when they are saying something do not interrupt. Listen to them, acknowledge
to what they are saying and then you can share your views. Wouldn't that be nice? That would
also build your confidence in having a conversation or opening up for different conversations
with different people. SO be courteous, be friendly and listen to what others have to say.
The next thing you need to keep in mid is continue eating. Now, when I say continue
eating doesn't mean that your concentration should be only on food. Well yes, do not indulge
into food completely but indulge yourself in the conversation as well. SO while you
are eating and the other people are having a conversation about random things, probably
someone is having a chat about what's happening around the world or someone is just talking
about the weather these days or may be someone is just commenting about a recent movie that
they watched, so even you can enter into that conversation by injecting a smile or maybe
a laughter. So yes, when you are eating do not just concentrate on eating and food but
also try to listen what others are talking and indulge yourself into certain conversations as well.
And the last skill that I want you to consider when you are at the dining table is compliment.
So if someone has invited you over for dinner and the family member has cooked a great delicious
meal for you then please compliment. Now, if the food is really amazing do let that
person know. tell them that " oh wow, the food is absolutely great"! or absolutely scrumptious.
Certain positive words will definitely make person feel good. If you are at a restaurant
and the food that is served to you, if it's really good then talk about it that's another
way to crack a conversation with people. So the moment food comes at your table you can
say that " Hmm this tastes great" or " the food is so good" ." This restaurant food is
really nice" Okay , so try to use these positive words and let's say that you don't like the
food, so what other words are you gonna use? Let's imagine that you are dining with your
co-workers or with your seniors and the food that is served to you is not that great, then
are you gonna use the negative words like eww the food is disgusting, the food is horrible,
its so crappy , no you not gonna do that, that's quite rude. Yes, you can use negative
words but words like - the food doesn't taste good or you can say that the food is bit unpalatable
these are the words that you can use if you do not like the food. SO keep in mind that
if you love the food then do compliment and if you don't like it then yes you can complain
a little bit. But do compliment the person who has cooked for you, SO this brings me
to the end of this session, hope you have really enjoyed it and the next time you are
dining with your friends , family or you co-workers , you know how to behave, right! So use these
tips and trust me you would come out as a great confident person at the dining table
as well. So keep watching and do subscribe our channel and begin your journey to success,
I will be back with more and more sessions for you, till then you take care.