TTBG #3 - Eat to the Pace of Your Company

We are going to move away from the topic of bathroom decorum for a little bit, although I am fairly certain that I could come up with about two dozen other tips on that topic alone, and make our way to the dining room. Let me preface this post by noting that the tip that I am going to state is generally more applicable to eating in public places versus the comfort of your own home.

One of the more commonly overlooked pieces of etiquette is the concept of eating to the pace of your company. Whether it is a first date, dinner with your parents or celebrating a wedding anniversary, the occasion doesn't really matter. It could be the best steakhouse in the entire world or it could be a burger at the dive bar down the street - you should always be conscious of how quickly you are eating your food relative to your company.

To understand why this is important, let's take a look at this from a date perspective. Imagine looking around a restaurant and seeing a woman having a conversation with her male counterpart and having a plate half-full. She's clearly still eating, but she just hasn't devoured the food like one of the hyenas in the Lion King. Meanwhile, the man across from her has already practically licked his plate clean, making the woman uncomfortable as she is left to eat by herself. Not exactly a situation any person wants to be part of on a date.

On the flip side, if a man is eating so slowly that the lady has taken care of her plate and is waiting for the check, he needs to reevaluate the way that he paces himself when eating meals.

The idea isn't to dictate the pace of meal consumption yourself; rather, it is important to remember that making the other person - doesn't matter who it is - feel comfortable when they eat is the key. You receive your food at the same time for a reason. Try to, at least, finish your food at roughly the same time.

Admittedly, this is not one of those things that people are going to notice frequently. But you will likely find yourself experiencing better conversation and meal-flow as the pauses to eat and to speak will come more naturally. Meal etiquette is a tough topic to nail and there are plenty of other tips that I will plan to cover (looking at you guy who licks his fingers clean and continues eating from a group dish), but locking down the small stuff is a place to start.

Previous entries:
#1 Stop Peeing on the Seat
#2 Put the Toilet Seat Down when Finished