(1) Meeting etiquette should be simplified.

Traditionally, people in western countries have a complex set of meeting etiquette, from shaking hands and greeting to introducing each other. In contrast, westerners are more casual in interpersonal communication. In America, friends usually greet each other with "hello" without any ceremony. Even if two people meet for the first time, they don't necessarily shake hands. Just smile, say hello and call each other by their first names to show their love.

But in formal occasions, people should pay attention to etiquette. Shaking hands is the most common greeting. In the United States, when shaking hands, the woman between men and women holds out her hand first. A man should not hold a woman's hand too tightly. If the other person has no intention of shaking hands, the man can only nod and bow. Between the young and the old, the old reach out first; Between the superior and the subordinate, the superior reaches out first; Between the host and the guest, the host reaches out first.

When shaking hands, look at each other and pinch off the gloves. If you can't take off your gloves for some reason, you must explain the reason and apologize to the other party. It should also be noted that people should not cross their hands for a long time, and women should not shake hands when they meet. Just like the order of shaking hands, when introducing two people, you should first introduce the man to the woman, the young to the old, and the low status to the high status.

2) Give up surnames at will.

Most westerners don't like to address themselves as Mr., Mrs. or Miss. They think such a title is too serious. American men, women and children like to be called by their first names and think it is a symbol of kindness and friendliness.

Westerners, regardless of position and age, always try to call each other by their first names to shorten the distance between them.

Westerners rarely use formal titles to address others. Official titles are generally only used for judges, senior government officials, military officers, doctors, professors and senior religious figures. For example: Judge Harry, Senator Smith, General Clark, Dr. Brown, Professor Green, Bishop White, etc. It is worth noting that westerners never use administrative titles such as directors, managers and principals to address others.

3) Talk with people about Mo Wen's private affairs.

All human actions are individual-centered, and personal interests are inviolable. This principle permeates all aspects of social life. People talk everyday and don't like to involve personal matters. Some questions are even taboo for them, such as age, marital status, income, religious belief, who to vote for in the election, etc. This is very presumptuous and rude.

Pay attention to "personal space". Don't stand too close when talking to westerners. It is generally advisable to keep it outside 50 cm. Whenever you go to a restaurant or a library, you should try to keep a certain distance from others. When you have to sit at the same table or next to others, you'd better say hello and ask, "May I sit here?" Don't sit down until you get permission.

(d) Women are preferred in social occasions.

What is the status of American women in social and political life, not to mention here. But in social situations, they always get special treatment. Respecting women is a traditional custom in European and American countries, which is influenced by the chivalry of medieval Europe from a historical perspective. From a religious point of view, it is out of respect for the virgin Mary.

According to the habits of westerners, in social occasions, men should be modest and love women everywhere. When walking, men should walk on the side near the road; When seated, please ask the woman to sit down first; Get on and off the elevator and let the woman walk in front; When entering the door, the man should open the door first and invite the woman in. But when you get off the bus and go downstairs, the man should walk in front to take care of the lady; When entering restaurants and theaters, men can walk in front and find good seats for women; When eating, ask the woman to order first; When greeting women, men should stand up, women don't have to stand up, just sit and nod; When men and women shake hands, men must take off their gloves, but women don't. A woman's things fall on the ground, and a man should help her pick them up whether he knows them or not.

(5) The more polite the expression, the better.

Westerners have a sweet mouth. They are never stingy with compliments, which often makes listeners feel comfortable. In America, words like "please", "thank you" and "sorry" can be seen everywhere.

In America, everyone will say "thank you" when getting help from others, even the president. In shopping malls, salespeople always smile. When customers come in, they will take the initiative to meet them and ask, "Can I help you?" When customers pay, they will smile and thank them. Finally, I will send you a thank you. Similarly, customers will repeatedly thank them for receiving the goods.

Westerners think it is impolite to burp in public or sneeze or cough when talking to others. In this case, they will say "I'm sorry" and ask for forgiveness.

Second, giving gifts, dating and visiting.

(1) Give a gift

Generally speaking, westerners don't give gifts casually. Some people often seem a little embarrassed when they receive gifts. This is especially true if they happen to have nothing in return. But when it comes to festivals, birthdays, weddings or visiting patients, gifts are inevitable.

It is the most popular for westerners to exchange gifts at Christmas. At Christmas, naive children will be in high spirits because they receive all kinds of novel toys, thinking that they are gifts from Santa Claus. Adults often give each other books, stationery, chocolate candy or bonsai. Gifts should be wrapped in floral paper and tied with ribbons.

Most visits are flowers and sometimes bonsai. Traditionally, if you mourn in person, you usually send flowers in a bottle without a business card; If you let the flower shop send it directly, you must attach a business card. When sending friends on a long trip, gifts are often given. Gifts are usually flowers, snacks, fruits or books and magazines. There is also a business card attached to the gift, wishing him a safe journey.

In addition, westerners believe that the singular is auspicious. Sometimes it doesn't feel like giving three pears, which is different from China people who pay attention to pairs. When westerners receive gifts, they must immediately open them, enjoy or taste them in front of the giver, and immediately thank the giver.

The gift is beautifully packaged and gorgeous in appearance, but it is not necessarily too expensive inside.

(2) dating

Westerners pay attention to efficiency and plan their daily time. Therefore, they absolutely don't want anyone to visit suddenly and disrupt their plans, except their close relatives and friends. Not only on weekdays, but also on Sundays.

When visiting other people's homes, you should write or call one or two days in advance to make an appointment, and you must not stand up after the date. It is very impolite to stand up. If you can't keep the appointment temporarily, you should inform the other party as soon as possible and apologize. You'd better arrive on time when you go to the appointment.

(3) Being a guest

Be considerate when dating, be punctual when dating, and be polite and natural when visiting. First of all, knock on the door or ring the doorbell, and get the owner's permission before entering the door. Some people have brown felt for shoeshine at the door. You should wipe the dirt off your shoes so as not to stain the owner's carpet. It is impolite for a person wearing a hat to take off his hat and put it in the room after entering the door. If you visit in rainy days, you should pay attention to putting your umbrella and raincoat outdoors. After taking off your coat and overcoat, the host will usually take the initiative to help you take it and hang it up. At this time, you don't have to mention it. After entering the house, be kind to the hostess first, and then to the host. If the host's house is full of guests and friends, then just shake hands with the host and acquaintances and nod to others.

There is no need to be too formal when you are a guest in a western family. If the host asks you to sit down, if you don't sit down immediately to show politeness, it will make the host feel uneasy and think the chair is dirty or inconvenient. When you are a guest, don't read the words on the host's desk, and don't look through the documents at will. Don't tamper with indoor antiques, let alone ask the price of indoor appliances.

It should not be too long to be a guest in a western family, so as not to delay the host's time too much. But don't leave immediately after dinner, talk to the host for a while, and then thank you and leave. If the husband and wife go to other people's homes together, the wife should stand up and leave first.

Third, table manners.

The length didn't start eating until all the guests served and the hostess signaled. Guests are not allowed to eat any food until the hostess picks up the spoon or fork. This is a habit of westerners, which is different from some European countries.

2. Napkins should be spread on your knees. If the napkin is large, it should be folded in half on the leg; If it's small, you can open it all. Although napkins can also be hung around the neck or tied to the chest, they are not generous and it is best not to do so. You can wipe off the oil stains on your mouth or fingers with a corner of a napkin, but you must never wipe the tableware with a napkin.

Sit up straight when eating, don't lean forward too much, and don't cross your arms on the table to avoid colliding with the guests next to you.

When using a knife and fork, you should use a knife with your right hand and a fork with your left hand. When using only a fork, you can hold it with your right hand. When using a knife, don't put the blade outward. Don't put food into your mouth with a knife. When cutting meat, avoid the knife making noise on the porcelain plate. When you eat noodles, you can roll them up with a fork. Don't pick them. When you put down your knife and fork halfway, you should put them on the plate in a figure of eight. If you put the knife and fork together, it means the meal is over.

You should hold the bread in your hand and then put it on the edge of a small dish or a large plate. Never fork bread with a fork. Use a butter knife to cut butter, not a personal knife. Take out the butter and put it in a small dish next to it. Don't rub it directly on the bread. Don't cut bread with a knife, and don't butter the whole bread. But to tear off a small piece at a time, eat one piece at a time and spread one piece at a time.

6. You can only eat salad with a fork. Hold the fork with your right hand, with the fork tip facing up. If there are bread and biscuits on the salad, you can hold a small piece of bread or biscuits with your left hand to help push the salad onto the fork.

7. When eating fish, you can hold the bread in your left hand and the knife in your right hand to push the thorn away. Don't spit the bones or fishbones of the population directly into the plate, but grab them with a fork and gently put them on the plate, or take them out with your hands as little as possible without paying attention, and put them on the edge of the plate, not on the table or underground. The stone should also be spit in the palm of your hand first, and then put into the plate.

8. When drinking water, you should swallow the food in your mouth first. Don't rinse your food with water. When drinking water from a glass, you should pay attention to wipe off the oil stains on your mouth first to avoid soiling the glass.

9. Don't carry plates while eating. When you drink soup, you can tilt the plate and eat it with a spoon. Don't put the spoon in the cup when drinking tea or coffee.

10. Don't make any noise when eating, especially when eating soup. You should shut up when you chew.

1 1. Don't blow your nose or burp while eating. If you sneeze or cough, please apologize to those around you. If you can't help crying, the other person will say "bless you" and you should respond with "thank you".

12. Don't pick your teeth at the dinner table. If something gets stuck between your teeth, take it out and cover your mouth with a napkin, preferably when no one else is present.

13. It is impolite to keep silent while eating. You should talk to people around you. But don't talk while chewing food. Even if someone is talking to you, you should swallow your food before you answer. You can talk without putting down your knife and fork, but don't hold it in the air.

14. At the dining table, all food should be eaten with a knife and fork. Olives, fruits, dry snacks, dried fruits, sweets, potato chips and bread can all be eaten with your hands.

15. When the waiter serves the food for the guests in turn, go to your left and it's your turn to take the food. If the waiter is standing on your right, don't take it. It's your turn to take the food. When picking vegetables, you'd better take a little of everything, which will make the hostess happy.

16. When the hostess wants to add food to you. You can pass her the plate with a knife and fork on it or give it to the waiter. You can't ask for more food if she doesn't ask you. It's impolite to do that.

17. Some foods on the table, such as bread, butter, jam, pickles, dried fruits, sweets, etc. It is not allowed to eat until the hostess suggests it. When everyone takes turns to pick up food, the male guest should let the female guest next to him take it first, or ask her if she wants you to take some for her. When eating, you should not take food in front of others. If you need something, you should pass it on behind others' backs.

18. After dinner, the guests have to wait for the hostess to get up from her seat and then leave together. It is impolite to leave at dinner or before the party is over. After standing up, the male guest should help the female guest put the chair back. Put the napkin on the table, don't fold it as it is, unless the host asks you to stay for the next meal.

Do not eat too much. Don't overeat. Don't be greedy. Don't open your belt in public if you eat too much. Don't loosen your belt in front of the guesser when you are full. )

Fourth, the wonderful use of greeting cards (omitted, because there are too many words to say. I sent it many times, so I have to save a lot of things)

Five, gossip cocktail (omitted, but also because there are too many words)

Sixth, tips

Generally speaking, when you get service from others, you should pay a tip. If the service is particularly thoughtful, you should pay more.

Tips should be paid by boat or train, not by coach or plane; Tips should be paid to porters at stations or docks, but there is no need to tip waiters when storing and picking up luggage; In a hotel, you should tip the waiter who helps you carry your luggage or clean your room, but you don't have to pay the waiter at the counter. In a restaurant, you should tip the waiter who serves you, but not the head waiter. When riding a bus, the tip should be paid to the taxi driver, not the bus driver; Tips should be given to hairdressers and beauticians, not salespeople and laundries.

Besides, you must never tip the police, customs inspectors, embassy staff, government employees and other civil servants for their services. You can only thank them verbally or in writing, otherwise it will be considered disrespectful. Traditionally, waiters standing at the counter generally don't accept tips, such as information desk staff and ticket office staff. Tour guides and elevator drivers in galleries and museums also don't accept tips.

The amount of tips varies from person to person. In big cities, if the tip paid by customers accounts for 15% of the total cost, it means that they are satisfied with the service; If it accounts for 20%, the service is excellent. In other places, tipping usually accounts for 15% of the cost. Customers have to tip 25 cents for breakfast in a small coffee shop; Stay in a high-end hotel and pay the cleaning lady $2 a day; In airports, railway stations and bus stations where unified charges are implemented, customers have to pay porters 35 cents for each piece of luggage; Women spend the most in barbershops, and they also tip hairdressers who wash their hair, have their hair cut and have their hair permed. Taxi drivers also ask for tips. If the fare is lower than 1.5 yuan, they can pay 25 cents, otherwise they will have to pay more.

There are many ways to tip: customers can put tips under tea plates and wine glasses; You can also put the tip in the waiter's hand; Or when you pay, just put away the whole ticket you got back. No change, just a tip.

Seven, ball guide

(1) private dance

Any family can hold a private dance as long as it has certain human and financial resources. The dance can be held at home, or you can rent a venue in a hotel or club.

When the time and place are determined, you should contact the band. Determine the guest list and send invitations. Invitations to dances are usually sent in the name of the hostess. Single men can also hold dances and send invitations. The ball should invite more male guests instead of female guests, so as not to have no female guests to dance. Therefore, before the dance, male guests can call the host and ask for another male partner, but not another female partner.

At the dance, the hostess can arrange seat cards for the guests, and discuss with the florist to send flowers to each guest on the spot.

1. Banquet

The dinner is held in the evening. Dinner is about an hour after the dance begins. Guests attending the formal dance should arrive within half an hour at the latest after the start of the dance, and usually take their seats according to the seat name tag.

After the guests are basically seated, they can start dancing. All the dishes were served slowly at dinner. Each male guest should first invite the female guest sitting on his left to dance, and then invite other female guests. Even if a new woman doesn't sit on her father's left, her father usually asks her to dance first.

If a dinner party is held at home, it can be a buffet. Guests can take their own food and sit around the table at will to choose the person to talk to.

Step 2: banquet

Whether it starts or ends, it is much later than the dinner party. It starts at night 10 and ends at night 1 1 and ends in the early morning of the next day.

There is no formal dinner at the dinner party, but some simple food is served from 12 midnight or 1 in Rosty Yi. Guests must have dinner before going to the dance. There are no fixed seats for dinner, and guests don't sit at the table. But there are enough chairs in the ballroom and the next room for guests to rest.

To attend the dinner party, you can arrive one hour later than the specified time, and you don't have to wait until the end of the party. In traditional dance, you can leave after the last waltz.

(2) Fundraisers

It is a commercial activity that makes money by organizing dances. Many charitable organizations and foundations in the United States increase their income by holding annual fund-raising dances. This kind of dance is one of the main ways for them to accumulate funds.

Some famous welfare organizations in the United States often organize fund-raising dances with celebrities such as the president's wife, the vice president's wife or other senior officials as the background, and the proceeds are used to help the poor, or help foreign immigrants or run charities.

(3) party etiquette

At the beginning of the dance, the hostess greeted every guest in the living room and introduced the new guests to the nearby guests.

When entering the ballroom, women are in front and men are in the back. Don't walk arm in arm.

On the dance floor, men can ask women to dance, but women can't ask men to dance on their own initiative. When a man invites a married woman to dance, he should ask her husband's permission before dancing with him. In the process of dancing, people are allowed to exchange partners, but two men or two women are never allowed to dance.

When a woman doesn't want to dance with a man, she can politely find an excuse to refuse, and a man can't force it.

When the ballroom provides food, the man should accompany his female companion to eat and take care of her.

Male guests should take the initiative to invite the hostess or the host's daughter to dance to show their respect.

When will the date come home? The date should say yes at once. See him off briefly. If the man goes first, he should explain the reason to the woman and ask for forgiveness.

Leaving the ballroom may not disturb the host, you can leave without saying goodbye. But if the host is around, you should thank her and say goodbye.

Within one week after attending the dance, you should call or write to your host to express your thanks.