Eick teaches teens about etiquette
- Laurie Sidle, OSU Extension Wayne Co.
- April 6, 2023
- 602
A full-course meal was on the menu along with a serving of etiquette when the Wayne County Junior Fair Board and Junior Leaders came together for their April meeting at Fisher Auditorium.
Leadership Trainer Marlene Eick led the teens through some lessons on how to properly present themselves when attending a formal/professional event.
Eick told the group it was fun to be presenting in her hometown of Wooster. The marketing and communications director for the Ohio Corn and Wheat growers travels the country in her role with the commodity group and for her own business of leadership coaching and training.
Titled Confidence and Credibility, her program provided guidance to the youth who will be applying for scholarships, colleges and positions in their fields of interest.
At that formal event where you may be accepting a scholarship from an organization or group, Eick said, this scenario may play out. “You’re going to interview with them for an internship that you don’t even know about yet.
“My goal after this evening is that you don’t feel awkward and you have a lot more confidence,” she told the teens. “If you feel confident, you will look more credible. You will look like a pro, even if you’re freaking out.”
She began with what she called “the Marlene Eick not-yet-patented four easy steps to introduce yourself.”
First, always stand when you meet someone and shake another person’s hand. Smile to make sure you look like you care and give a good handshake, meaning the web of your hand meets the web of the other person’s hand.
As you give the handshake, speak a greeting. If appetizers are served at a reception, a plate of food should be held in one hand, leaving the other hand free for the handshake.
The point of receptions is never the food, Eick explained. “It’s about connecting with people, building rapport and having conversation. Enjoy the food,” she said, “but never at the expense of conversation.”
With those instructions, the teens were dismissed to the auditorium’s lobby, to get a small plate of appetizers, mingle and have conversation with their peers.
Then it was on to the sit-down dinner in one of the auditorium’s exhibit areas.
Appetizers of meatballs, vegetables, and fruit and the meal of chicken parmesan, pasta, green beans, a twice-baked potato, breadstick, salad, water or lemonade and pie and ice cream were served by Exclusively Yours Catering.
Doug Foxx, Ohio State University Extension Educator for Youth Development in Wayne County, said in planning discussions with Exclusively Yours, the company’s staff was “so excited that we were doing this program that they offered to serve the meal plated instead of buffet style at no extra cost.”
“Kids should know how to eat spaghetti,” said Exclusively Yours co-owner Chris Goines, speaking to one of the choices for the evening’s menu. “We could have served the meal as a buffet but if it's plated (the teens) will learn from it.”
“They need to understand the elegant way,” added the company’s owner Charlie Bauer.
Prior to the meal being served, Eick reviewed table etiquette with the teens, explaining how to hold their silverware, which utensils should be used when, what to do with the napkin (once on their laps it should never be put back on the table) and how to treat others at the table.
“It’s not about following a list of rules, Eick said, “it’s feeling comfortable in a situation. Etiquette is about making people feel respected and served.”
Junior Fair Board member Kayleigh Molar said she found the program fun. “I like to be prepared for every situation,” she said, so she was particularly interested in the instructions on how to talk to people at formal events.
Entering and exiting conversations were of interest to Junior Fair Board Secretary Jo Bailey. “I like that the program was interactive,” she said, rather than just a spoken presentation.
At the end of the program, Eick told the group she’d be watching.
“When I see you out in the wild, I’m going to see if you feel confident and comfortable as you interact with others.”
Laurie Sidle is a Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-H Program Assistant with OSU Extension – Wayne County. She can be reached at 330-264-8722 or Sidle.31@osu.edu.