Since many eastern countries tend to communicate indirectly, bad table manners could cause you to lose face, respect and profitable relationships at an important business banquet.

Here Asian Business Expert, Rachael Mah, shares a few chopsticks do’s and don’ts:

Do:

1. Place your chopsticks on your chopstick rest when taking a break from eating. If there is no chopstick rest, neatly lay your sticks next to your dish. Placing them horizontally across the top of your bowl or plate is a sign that you’ve finished eating!

2. In Japan and China, feel free to lift your bowl to your mouth and use the chopsticks to guide the last bits of food into your mouth.
In Korea, however, it’s customary to bring your mouth down to your bowl. Spoons are often supplied alongside chopsticks.

3. Practice! Even if you’re not confident in your chopstick skills, don’t be afraid to try. For one, practice makes perfect. It also shows you are serious about adapting to another culture’s style.

Don’t:

1. Use your chopsticks to grab food from a serving dish. Use the serving chopsticks instead.

2. Eat directly from the serving dish. Instead, use your chopsticks to place food onto your plate before eating.

3. Play with your chopsticks, as tempting as it may be to use them as mini drumsticks. Similarly, don’t lick or chew chopsticks, as they are not meant to touch the lips or teeth.

4. Stick chopsticks upright in your food. When chopsticks are upright in food, it looks quite like incense sticks being burned as an offering to dead ancestors.

5. Point your chopsticks at anything or anyone else around the table. It’s just considered bad manners.

If you’re not used to this cultural difference, using chopsticks might take a bit of practice. But don’t worry, it’s possible!

More than a billion people use them every day—in fact, each year 24 billion pairs of disposable ones are used in Japan alone and much more in China!

For more information on doing business in Asia or working in those cultures contact Rachael Mah on rachaelm@ausasiatraining.com