This is best printed in landscape orientation.

The first column lists desired manners.
The second and third columns are for a game:

• Have each person write down several names for themself that describe good manners and bad manners: e.g., Calamitous Carol (bad), Cautious Carol (good), Regal Ray (good), Raucous Ray (bad), Beautiful Bethany (good), Bad News Bethany (bad). Each person will announce their skits using an appropriate description!
• For a given manner (row in this table), the person in charge hands ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ to two different people. These people act out the indicated behaviors.

TABLE MANNER	CORRECT	INCORRECT
Chew with your mouth closed.	Put something in your mouth. Chew it with your mouth closed.	Put something in your mouth. Chew it with your mouth open, making lots of noise.
No reading material at the table.	Walk to the table, reading a book. Before sitting at the table, properly put away the book.	Walk to the table, reading a book. Continue reading it while you're at the table.
No phones or electronic devices at the table. (There are exceptions, like a doctor who is on call.)	Walk to the table, talking on the phone. Before sitting at the table, put the phone in another room. Or, turn it off or put it on vibrate, and put it (say) in your pocket.	Walk to the table, talking on the phone. Set it down next to you at the table. Answer a call while you're eating.
If you're expecting an urgent call while eating, put your phone on vibrate. When you get the call, politely excuse yourself from the table; go in another room to talk.	Before eating, let people know you're expecting an urgent call. Put your phone on vibrate, and put it in your pocket. When you get the call, quietly say ‘I'm sorry, I need to take this call’. Leave the room to talk.	Before eating, let people know you're expecting an urgent call. Leave your phone on with a loud ringer; put it right next to your plate. Take the call at the table and talk loudly.
Don’t use your utensils like a shovel.	Eat some (pretend) mashed potatoes. Say ‘Yum! These mashed potatoes are delicious!’ Hold your fork/spoon properly (pencil grip), gently bring the food to your mouth, eat slowly, chew completely and swallow before taking a second bite.	Eat some (pretend) mashed potatoes. Say ‘Yum! These mashed potatoes are delicious!’ Grab your fork/spoon like a shovel, and furiously eat the potatoes rapid-fire, not stopping to chew and swallow between forkfuls.
Proper way to hold fork and knife for cutting: watch minutes 1:25 to 2:10 of basic dining etiquette—using utensils. Also watch Etiquette Bites (1:40).	Eat some (pretend) steak. Cut it properly with your knife and fork. (To be extra dainty, cut only one piece at a time; then eat that piece before cutting another.) Use the American style, putting the knife across the top of your plate and switching the fork to your right hand to eat each bite.	Eat some (pretend) steak. Hold the knife with a fist grip and cut it all up furiously. Stab the steak like a pitchfork. Put a piece in your mouth before you're finished with a previous piece.
At a formal dinner with a host/hostess, follow their lead: -- don't sit down until they sit down -- don't put your napkin in your lap until they do	[two people coordinate on this skit] Person #1: Say something like ‘Hi! I'm Carol. I'll be your hostess for the evening. Person #2: Don't sit until the host/hostess sits. Wait until they put their napkin in their lap to do the same.	[two people coordinate on this skit] Person #1: Say something like ‘Hi! I'm Carol. I'll be your hostess for the evening. Person #2: Sit down immediately, taking the best seat at the table. Put your napkin in your lap immediately.
No elbows on the table! No slouching or leaning over your food. However, you can rest your wrists/forearms on the table.	Seat yourself at the table. Sit with good posture. Don't put your elbows on the table. Take a break from eating, gently lean your wrists/forearms on the table, and talk to your neighbor.	Seat yourself at the table. Slouch. Lean over your food while eating. Put your elbows on the table.
Pass the salt and pepper together (even if only one is asked for). This way, they won't get separated.	[two people coordinate on this skit] Person #1: May I have the salt, please? Person #2: Pass both the salt and pepper together.	[two people coordinate on this skit] Person #1: May I have the pepper, please? Person #2: Pass only the pepper.
Use the ‘resting position’ for utensils if you have to leave the table but will be returning: knife handle at 4:00 (to center) fork handle at 8:00 (to center) Be sure to keep the handles hanging off the edge of the plate, so they don't get in your food.	Sit at the table, eating. Politely excuse yourself for a moment, saying something like ‘Excuse me, I need to go to the rest room. I'll be right back.’ Before leaving, put your silverware in the proper ‘resting position’ on your plate.	Sit at the table, eating. Stop eating; leave your silverware all haphazard in a mess on and off your plate. Noisily jump from the table, making lots of noise getting out of your chair. Don't let anyone know where you're going or what you're doing—just leave.
When you're done eating, put your utensils in the ‘I'm finished position’: both knife and fork handles at 4:00 (to center). Be sure to keep the handles hanging off the edge of the plate, so they don't get in your food.	Sit at the table, eating. Politely leave the table, saying something like ‘Thanks for the lovely dinner. I'm sorry, but I have to rush off to an appointment.’ Before leaving, put your silverware in the proper ‘I'm finished position’ on your plate.	Sit at the table, eating. Stop eating; leave your silverware all haphazard in a mess on and off your plate. Noisily jump from the table, making lots of noise getting out of your chair. Don't let anyone know where you're going or what you're doing—just leave.
NAPKIN etiquette: --if you leave the table briefly, but will return, leave your napkin on your chair --when you're completely done, leave your napkin to the left of your plate (NOT on your plate)	Sit at the table, eating. Politely excuse yourself for a moment, saying something like ‘Excuse me, I need to make a quick call. I'll be right back.’ Before leaving, put your napkin on your chair. Return to your seat, and then say ‘An emergency has arisen, and I have to leave. Thanks for the lovely meal.’ Upon leaving, put your napkin to the left of your plate.	Sit at the table, eating. Stop eating; throw your napkin in your food. Noisily jump from the table, making lots of noise getting out of your chair. Don't let anyone know where you're going or what you're doing—just leave.
Don’t pick your teeth at the table.	[two people coordinate on this skit] Person #1: ‘Yum!! This corn-on-the-cob is delicious!’ Neighbor: quietly whisper in Person #1's ear ‘You have some food stuck in your teeth’. Person #1: Quietly say thank you; politely excuse yourself from table to fix teeth, then return.	[two people coordinate on this skit] Person #1: ‘Yum!! This corn-on-the-cob is delicious!’ Neighbor: Loudly say ‘Look at you! You've got food stuck in your teeth!!’ Person #1: Give a loud and inappropriate reply. Pick your teeth at the table to get out the food.
Place your napkin in your lap immediately upon sitting down. Use it as needed.	Sit at the table. Immediately take your napkin and place it on your lap. Eat, using your napkin to dab your mouth, then returning it to your lap.	Sit at the table. Leave your napkin on the table (don't put it in your lap). Pick up the napkin, make it into a paper airplane, and fly it across the table.
Wait until you’re done chewing to sip or swallow a drink. (Choking is clearly an exception.)	Chew some food. Swallow it before taking a drink.	Chew some food. Take a drink before you swallow the food, exposing the food in your mouth and getting food all over the edge of the glass.
Cut only one to two pieces of food at a time.	Say ‘This steak looks delicious!’ Cut only one-two pieces (using proper cutting etiquette). Eat before cutting more.	Say ‘This steak looks delicious!’ Cut the entire steak into pieces, then eat them rapid-fire.
Instead of reaching across the table for something, ask for it to be passed to you. An item is considered to be within reach if it is within easy reach of your arm when you're leaning only slightly forward. Don't lean past the person sitting next to you.	Say ‘please pass the potatoes’, and patiently wait for it to arrive. Say thank-you upon receipt.	Announce that you want more potatoes. Then, immediately reach way across the table to grab it. Or, get up and walk around the table to get it. Or, lean WAY across the table to grab it.
Take part in the dinner conversation.	[two or more people coordinate on this skit] Converse, with all contributing.	[two or more people coordinate on this skit] Sit, silently pouting and saying nothing, while others talk. Or, talk-talk-talk, not giving anyone else a chance to talk.
‘Outside-in’ rule for complicated place settings: Use utensils on the outside first and work your way in with each new course.	Pretend you're talking with your Mom about setting the table with two forks: one for dinner (large), one for desert (small). Decide that the correct placement is the dinner fork on the outside, desert on the inside. Put the forks in the proper place around the plate.	Have fun with a diatribe about forks. Say it's wasteful to use two different forks. Say the only reason for two forks is to clang them together and make music, or to have extra catapults for sending food across the table.
Removing Unwanted Food from your Mouth Food is removed from the mouth in the manner in which it is put into the mouth. Food put into the mouth with a utensil is removed with a utensil. When fingers are used to eat food, the pit or bone is removed with fingers.	Put a cherry in your mouth with your fingers; remove the pit with your fingers and place on the edge of your plate. Put a spoonful of food in your mouth; politely remove an unwanted part, and put it on the edge of your plate.	Put a cherry in your mouth with your fingers; spit the pit a long distance into the waste basket. Put a spoonful of food in your mouth. Say ‘Gross! There's something yucky in here!’ Reach into your mouth, show it to everyone, then throw it across the table into the basket.
Proper silverware placement: fork on left of plate knife (sharp side in) on right of plate spoon to right of knife	Set a correct place setting with knife, spoon, and fork.	Set an incorrect place setting with knife, spoon, and fork.
Passing etiquette: Food should be passed in only one direction around the table; conventionally, it is passed to the right (counterclockwise). Memory device: it's RIGHT to pass RIGHT! There are exceptions—if food must go a LONG way if passed right, or just a short distance moving left, it is appropriate to pass left. You can either hold the dish while your neighbor serves, or hand it to the person to help themself.	[two or more people coordinate on this skit] Person #1: ‘Pass the spinach, please’. Person #2 (across the table): Pass it to the right. Person #1, upon receipt, say thank you. Person #1: ‘Pass the spinach, please’. (the spinach is just one person to the right of Person #1) Person #2 : Pass it to the left, since to the right is WAY too long.	[two or more people coordinate on this skit] Person #1: ‘Pass the spinach, please’. Person #2 (across the table): Pass it to the left. Person #1: ‘Pass the spinach, please’. (the spinach is just one person to the right of Person #1) Person #2 : Pass it to the right, so it goes a LONG way around the table!