By Liz Kutch
Staff Writer

On Nov. 13, Marilyn Cormier, director of Government and Community Relations, gave a presentation on business dining etiquette in the Hoehl Presentation Room. The event was sponsored by the Student Resource Center (SRC) and Professor Robert Letvosky’s business class.

Who is Emily Post?

Cormier is a certified consultant for the Emily Post Institute (EPI), an organization that offers intensive training programs on etiquette.

Cormier, dressed in a red pantsuit, arrived a half hour before the presentation began.

Students arrived early for the presentation too, dressed in business attire. Most women wore heels with pants, skirts and suits, while the men wore slacks, dress shirts and ties.

Christine Clary, co-director of the SRC, directed students into the dining room.  The six tables were dressed in white linen with six or seven place settings at each. Every place setting included a range of dining utensils. Both red and white wine glasses rested next to the water goblets. Coffee cups were positioned above the spoon with the handles turned to four-o’clock.

Forty people attended the dinner, which filled the cap Clary and Letovsky had set for the event. Most were students, and there was an even ratio of men to women.

Students direct their attention to Cormier's PowerPoint presentation on the projection screen. (Photo by Kaitlyn Coakley)

Once the guests settled, Professor Letovsky introduced Cormier. Cormier directed the students' attention to the projection screen at the front of the room. On the first slide appeared a question: “What does etiquette mean to you?”

Cormier asked for responses, and a few students shouted out words like “proper” and “manners.” Cormier then shared a more comprehensive definition, based on the teachings of Emily Post.

“Whenever two or more people come together and their behavior affects one another, you have etiquette,” Cormier says.

Throughout the evening, Cormier gave tips pertaining to potential encounters in the business world.  In a simulation with Clary and Letovsky, Cormier demonstrated how to properly introduce two people.

“Always introduce up,” Cormier says. “I always remembered this by, 'your majesty, may I present to you…'”

Proper table manners were a consistent theme throughout Cormier’s dialogue.

“Emily Post said 'to let anyone see what you have in your mouth is repulsive, to make a noise is to suggest an animal, and to make a mess is disgusting,'” Cormier says.

An etiquette guru

Cormier has worked at St. Michael’s for 27 years. Initially, Cormier worked in Academic Affairs. She subsequently became assistant to the president, which then led to her current position, which deals directly with the college's external affairs.

“I was raised on etiquette,” Cormier says.

In recent years people have requested her etiquette training, Cormier says.

“I had my upbringing but didn’t have the formal training to do this,” Cormier says, “I thought, 'I really would like to know what a company here in the U.S. is teaching.'”

Marilyn Cormier, director of Government and Community Relations, shakes hands with a smile. Cormier is originally from Sri Lanka, and says etiquette was embedded in her European upbringing. (Photo by Kaitlyn Coakley)

Cormier registered for an intensive program with the EPI in Burlington. She attended the “train the trainer” program to become an EPI-certified consultant, she says.

“Emily Post is known as the ‘queen of etiquette,’” Cormier says.

The program's training essentially attempts to define "business etiquette" and why it is important, Cormier says.  Proper introductions, business socializing, table manners, and “the 24-7 professional” were some elements of Cormier's training, she says.

When applying for a job, proper etiquette can be hugely advantageous, Cormier says. When you arrive, how you say goodbye, and how you dress can all become factors when employers decide who to hire, she says.

“We only had three hours for the whole presentation, so I had to condense a little bit,” Cormier says.

“I hope to do more of these,” she says. “I truly love the students, and that is my underlying basis for doing this.”

Seniors look beyond graduation

Seniors Mike Sugrue and Artie Dionisio attended the etiquette dinner to fill a requirement for their internship class. However, both wish the presentation could have taken place sooner, they say.

Earlier that week, Sugrue and Dionisio attended a formal dinner with Letvosky as a reward for winning a marketing simulation. The dinner and Cormier's seminar paralleled one another; each had multiple courses and an unfamiliar place setting, Sugrue says.

Seniors Artie Dionisio (left) and Mike Sugrue both wish they could have attended Cormier's seminar sooner, they say. Earlier in the week, the pair attended a formal dinner with Professor Letovsky. (Photo by Kaitlyn Coakley)

“Techniques like folding your napkin, eating dessert, and how to tip your soup bowl would have been really helpful to know for the other dinner,” Sugrue says.

Of all the dining tips that Dionisio learned, the task of eating a roll was most surprising. Cormier instructed attendees to only butter one bit of the roll at a time.

“The rolls were outrageous,” Dionisio says. “It took us over 15 minutes to eat the things!”

Senior Sarah Ryan also attended the dinner for her internship class, but says she had heard about it previously through the SRC. The knowledge gained from the presentation will benefit her in the future, she says.

“Although I knew most of the general stuff, I learned a lot of little intricacies,” Ryan says.