Lisa Brooks is frequently complimented on her well-mannered behavior and feels it is the best kind of praise to receive.

Brooks is a family and consumer sciences instructor of hospitality management who will teach dining skills today at Eastern’s fourth annual Etiquette Dinner.

Brooks described two different types of dining style: American and continental. As expected, the majority of students dine with the American style that Brooks described as “a zigzag, inefficient way of eating.”

“Americans tend to switch their silverware from one hand to the other, which causes a noisy atmosphere,” she said.

The continental style is an internationally accepted way of eating, Brooks said.

“It’s a more ambidextrous style, therefore not as noisy,” she said. “It is polished and clean and can really impress others subtly.”

Brooks said she feels dining etiquette is important for two reasons.

First, because “you never know who is watching,” she said. The second reason being that “when students graduate and go into the real world, they will have internships and interviews where they will be taken out to eat and employers really do look at their table manners.”

Kathy Rhodes, a family and consumer sciences instructor, said students need a little bit of polishing up going into the workforce.

“This will help students to become more educated and give them tools to succeed,” she said.

A number of students have stopped Brooks in passing to thank her and let her know they have somehow benefited from this lesson. Many students have admitted to feeling more comfortable while dining out as well, she said.

“I think the etiquette dinner will prepare me for real life situations for when I graduate school,” said Darcy Marzullo, a junior physical education. “I have some current knowledge of table manners, like not to put my elbows on the table, but I think this dinner will teach me more.”

The Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences is sponsoring the dinner. It will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The dress code for the night calls for formal-casual wear.