From Walter Center: Pueschel led Etiquette Dinner for OHIO COB
On Tuesday, January 21st, Walter Center faculty member, Andrew Pueschel led students in the Select Leaders Development Program and Emerging Leaders Program through an extensive dinner etiquette course that taught students the basics of how to act when attending a business dinner.
The students were served a four-course meal which included soup, salad, an entrée and dessert with traditional silverware plating. The students were taught how to act from the time they entered the room to when they left. The main areas of focus were:
- Confidently entering a room full of strangers
- Introducing yourself and proper handshakes
- Networking your table
- Using utensils and dishes appropriately
- Exiting a room and follow up after an event
“The part I learned the most from was learning how to use utensils and dishes appropriately,” Select Leader Ross Ferraro said. “It was extremely helpful, because I never knew that there were different forks to use depending on the entrée, or that there is a certain way you are supposed to pass items around the table.”
To wrap up the evening, Dr. Pueschel left the group by explaining why etiquette is so important.
“Whenever two people come together and their behavior affects one another, you have etiquette,” he said. “I believe that proper social and dining etiquette is important because if we want someone to trust us with their time and energy, we must make them feel comfortable engaging with us; we must learn how to adapt to our environments if we want to maximize our success.”
Dr. Pueschel has been at Ohio University for four years. He was the former Assistant Director of VIP Events and Presidential Programming at Carnegie Mellon University, as well as the former Assistant Director of Fashion and publicity at Saks Fifth Avenue. These positions required him to stay current with social, food and professional etiquette trends. “I wanted to host this event because I feel strongly that Ohio University students should feel comfortable in any professional/social setting in which they need to show the best version of themselves,” Pueschel said.
The Walter Center would like to thank Dr. Pueschel for this immersive experience for business Bobcats to learn and practice proper etiquette. It was truly an experience that students will utilize and take with them throughout their lives.