Etiquette Instruction from a Pro

Etiquette Is For Everyone!

· Children: Perhaps you are tired of the sloppy manners at mealtimes or are looking for a new and edifying class for your youngster. It is never too early to begin socializing children or building confidence.

• Teens: It is time to start getting a handle on do’s and don’ts when out on dates and at those school dances. You don’t want to look like an idiot, do you?

• Working Professionals: It is never too late to brush up on that “which fork” issue. Maybe you are attending a company banquet or an important business lunch. You don’t want to look like an oaf, do you?

• Dating: He’s from Aspen and you’re from Podunk…but it’s love! How do you handle that little dinner party his parents are throwing for you both at their elegant chalet? Or, you really want to impress that beautiful girl you just asked out. You want her to think you are a real gentleman, right?

Before Heidi’s Etiquette Course

ETIQUETTE QUIZ

Take the Heidiva etiquette quiz and see how well versed you are on the rules of decorum:

1. Who leads down the stairs? What about up?
2. Which fork do you use for your salad? What if the salad is served after the main course?
3. When being seated in a restaurant, who is the first to follow the hostess to the table?
4. When walking down the street with a woman, the man is supposed to walk on which side? What if you cross the street and make a left turn?
5. You’re at a restaurant and your filet mignon slides off your plate and onto the floor. What do you do?
1. Discreetly try to put it back onto your plate
2. Ignore it.
3. Make a joke about it while you wait for the waiter to bring you a new one.
4. Get up and find your waiter to help you take care of this embarrassing situation
6. A man opens the car door for you. What is the proper way to enter the vehicle?
7. True or False: you may use your bread, in lieu of your knife, to push food onto your fork.
8. True or False: it is acceptable to lean over your plate when taking a bite so as not to run the risk of dropping food on your clothes.
9. The art of shaking hands: who is the first to proffer a hand?
10. Mealtime conversation: You are a dinner guest; you had an emergency appendectomy three days ago. It is amazing that the recovery period is so short these days. And the incisions they make these days are so small compared to what they used to be. Your operation has obviously been the hot topic in your life recently; so, it is only natural therefore to at least mention it at dinner. It is important to get those sympathetic reactions everywhere you go, the amazement that you did not die, and the admiration that you endured this trauma…right?
11. You receive gifts from your friends, family, and some acquaintances at your birthday party. You
1. Call everyone and thank him or her for his or her lovely gift.
2. E-mail a splashy “Thanks for coming to my party” note to the whole gang the next day with pictures of your happening soirée.
3. Painstakingly handwrite 45 well-thought-out, original thank you cards, to be sent out within ten days of the party, wasting all that money on postage.
4. Thank people again as you see them, trying to remember what they gave you.
12. What is the best way to handle the inevitable etiquette faux pas?

If you were unsure about the answers to the preceding important decorum questions, you need a coaching session with Heidiva!

The Etiquette Training Session

Ms. Van der Veer would be delighted to be of assistance! She can assist you with

• Table Manners-from setting the table to dessert and everything in between. Includes custom meal.
• Mealtime Conversation Topics
• The Art of Thank You Letter Writing
• Social Graces of Dating-opening doors, seating and being seated, stairs, reservations and much more. Role-playing. Bring your questions.
• Walking, Poise, Carriage-walk and carry yourself with confidence.
• Fashion-personalized 4-hour shopping excursion with lunch. Redesign your wardrobe, your style, your attitude with a new look and updated clothing styles to suite your fashion needs. Bring your credit card: this day is not for the shy of spending!

Heidi Van der Veer attended the finest finishing schools in Finland…well, actually, she was trained from an early age in “table manners fit for dinner at the White House.” Repast after repast she was coached with the European model of propriety. It was not uncommon to find Heidi devouring the etiquette books in junior high and high school (that is, when she was not reading Kafka, Beckett, or Hesse). In addition to her frequent visits to Europe in the last 15 years, dining at some of the most elegant five-star restaurants, Miss Van der Veer makes a point of honing her skills right here in the Aloha State with her colleagues from M.E.N.S.A., the Modern Etiquette Network Society of America, where she is the proud president for the local chapter. And now, she shares the Truth about Real manners with you!

You may contact Ms. Van der Veer at tarquiniaq@yahoo.com for your private or group