By: Stefanie Nagelschmitz

At last week’s CanACT etiquette dinner students and fellow attendees brushed up on business and dining etiquette from professional instructor, Jodie Beach.  Students can now stand above the rest impressing employers as they enter the workforce.

Beach is a professional business etiquette, attire and communications trainer from Iowa, USA.  On February 26 approximately 30 CanACT members, Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) student leaders, faculty and agricultural industry professionals learned valuable dining and business tips during the three course dinner at the University Club.

“[Business dining is] not about the food, it’s about the relationships you’re building,” said Beach. “Business etiquette is not about being stuffy and uptight.  That’s just being stuffy and uptight.”

Participants enjoyed the relaxed setting and Beach’s energetic speaking which made learning fun.  Her lessons on how to eat, mingle, converse and dress properly were clear despite lots of fun laughter and a delicious meal.  All diners agreed that she taught them something new but also boosted their confidence by reassuring that some old habits were still correct.

“No one was born with an etiquette gene,” she said.

Thursday’s event was sponsored by Syngenta, the  OAC Alumni Association, and the Student Federation of the Ontario Agricultural College (SFOAC).