.Wednesday, August 6, 2008 ' 10:06 AM Y
The Art of Corporate EntertainmentThis topic is an eye opener for me. Why? It is because there are alot of different etiquettes that I did not know.
For example:
Toilet EtiquetteI did not know that saying the word "
loo" is wrong where "ladies, gents, washroom, restroom" are more appropriate. In addition, one must not squat on the toilet seat when using.
I bet this phenomenon is very familar to some of us where we were young. I remembered clearly that my mother used to ask me and my sister to squat on the toilet bowl seat when we are doing our "business". The purpose of her doing this is because she doesn't want us to wet our pants or sit on the toilet seat as she knows that it is not clean.
More and often, as I grew older, I learnt the tactic of "half sit half stand" and the art of aiming at the right place. I realise that even till today, parents do no want their child to make a mess out of themselves, thus they choose to let their children squat at the toilet seats instead.
Then I heard about the
”Man-die-first” Policy. I then thought to myself, why is it called “Man-die-first” policy?
Actually, it means that men should be gentlemen, caring for woman. Take for example, walking on the side of the road.
Males should always
stand closer to the road, so if there will be an accident, the man will die first. Or when crossing the road, the males should stand closer to the cars than the females. I name this act of being considerate as “gentlemen”.
When the lecturer was explaining about the policy, I laughed as I did not know at all that man should stand closer to the road than woman. I felt that the lecture was very interesting as it teaches us facts that we did not know previously.
Living in the Singapore culture for 18 years, being influenced by our Singapore style, these etiquettes never exist till I am being taught. I feel that people in Singapore should be educated on these etiquettes especially on dressing etiquette. All we see in Singapore are people slurping their soup, talking loudly during meals and rushing in the train instead of basic manners. To us who lived in Singapore for long, it may be something normal and appropriate due to our Singapore lifestyle, but when reflected overseas, they may feel that Singapore are a crowd of “crude people” with no manners.
My father told me that Singapore is deemed as the “worst dress” country internationally. It means that Singaporeans are not dressing appropriately. Example wearing casual short pants and shirts to Orchard Road, and some even wearing jeans and shirt to attend a wedding dinner. Comparing us to countries in America and Japan, we are way below standards.
I love this topic best as it teaches me much more in life and behaviour. I learn how to conduct myself better, saying a simple “Thank you” with a smile and know how to choose right gifts for the recipient. 
Besides social etiquette, I learn more about dining etiquette from this topic.
Try to stick to familar restaurant that you have been before and not try new restaurants in case the food quality is not as good
when eating with your guest, you should suggest about the restaurant specialities and mirror what your guest orders.
For example if you guest orders a drink, order one for yourself too as you should not allow your guest to drink alone.
I realise there are so many things to know and take note of.
Some people may be too use to
slurping their soups
or even talking on the cell phone during meals
These may not be as appropriate during meals. However, I found out that some countries feel that slurping your food shows that you enjoy eating the food. Therefore, link to the previous topics, we must know business etiquettes of other countries in order to know what to do or not to during business meals.
I learn about both social and dining etiquette from this topic where it can helps me to be prepared for business meals e.g. know which fork and knife to use for which course. Also, I will know how to treat my guests when dining in a restaurant which makes them feels comfortable and ease over meals. Thus, it being my favourite topic, what I learn can be apply to not only for businesses but also for my daily life.
