Lifestyle

Manners matter

by Bebe Leung

Eating a bread roll by holding it up with a fork can often be seen among Hong Kong Chinese at the dining table, so one would imagine this is proper etiquette – wrong.

Of course, people are entitled to behave in whatever way they like, but for those who are concerned with their manners and appearances or do not want to commit a faux pas there are many dos and don’ts they need to watch out in social and business occasions.

Mary Pandora Cheung, Miss Hong Kong of 1975, says good manners have to be cultivated, like saving money, and that “takes time”. “No one is born to be a gentleman or a lady,” said Cheung, now an etiquette trainer and image consultant.

Giving a decent first impression to others and having inner beauty are both important, the former beauty queen said. She said she had benefited much from learning proper manners when she was young.

As an orphan, she used to roam the streets and had no idea of social manners. She received her first lesson on etiquette from her American dance teacher after she entered Po Leung Kuk, an orphanage. She recalled that she was shocked when her dance teacher told her to sit up properly as she sprawled in her chair at a restaurant.

Ever since then, Cheung said, she knew the importance of being presentable so as not to make others misjudge her.

Earlier this year, a worldwide courtesy study conducted by Reader’s Digest showed that Hong Kong people were generally impolite and the city was ranked 30 out of the 35 places being examined. People here were not good at saying “thank you” or opening doors for others, the magazine’s survey found.

Many young people in Hong Kong have yet to be trained on etiquette such as dress codes for different occasions, table manners, mobile phone manners, and conversation and social skills.

Among them is Chan Kwan, a 23-year-old university student, who said he had no idea of the sequence of using cutlery with the outside pieces first for a proper western meal.

For those who have taken part in etiquette classes, they said they learnt more about how to behave themselves in social functions.

Nichole Lee Fuk-ching, a translation student said she now knew what to wear and how to eat and drink properly in a formal setting.

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