What are etiquette standards for using my napkin in a business dining setting?
You don't just sit down and pull your napkin and put it on your lap within a business setting as this is not good etiquette. You wait till every one at the table has been seated, then you remove your forks, it's on the left, and then you place the napkin below the table line and shake it out so that the fold of the napkin is facing your knees And when you use your napkin, you blotch your mouth if you are right handed on the right side, and on the left if you are left handed. So that when you get up and put your napkin in your chair, to go to the wash room, no one sees the food stains. And you do the same thing at the end of the meal when you put your napkin back onto the table, so that no one sees the food stains. So the ideal is to hold the napkin and put it under your lap with your knees out. There's no slapping like a bath towel and beware that some waiters at conferences are very creative. They do wild things, they do all kinds of things, but always know that your napkin is to your left usually. And if any body at the table ends up without a napkin, which just happened to me yesterday at a conference as someone didn't have their napkin, the idea is just say, okay, we're short of napkins, is there an extra napkin at the table, especially at a table of 8 or 10, which most conferences have. Don't make a big deal out of it, just grab your napkin, but on the part of the restaurant, it will be on your left.
