Before setting out to practice, know the placing of cutlery popularly known as table setting. There are basic two traditional types of table settings — formal and informal.

Informal place settings
This is one of the simplest for a three-course dinner. It includes dinner plate which is the ‘hub of the wheel’ and usually the utensil is to be on the table, two forks placed left of the plate. The dinner fork is used for the main course, the smaller fork for a salad and hence the placement on the outside at the far left, the dinner knife is set immediately to the right of the plate with cutting edge facing inward. Spoons go to the right of the knife. A soup spoon goes farthest to the right and the dessert spoon between the soup spoon and the knife. Drinking glasses are placed at the top right of the dinner plate. The napkin is folded and put in a napkin ring and placed either to the left of the forks or in the centre of the plate.

The one rule for a formal table is for everything to be geometrically spaced, the centrepiece in the exact centre, the place settings at equal distance and the crockery/cutlery balanced.The rest of the placement is more or less the same, which would largely depend on the course of the meal. Deciding which knife, fork or spoon to use is confusing. Notice the placement of the cutlery and if you want to get it right then remember that you start from the outside and work your way in the meal course progresses. Be aware that there are two different holding styles from which to choose. Fork has become most indispensable of the two cutleries and is held in the right hand if managing the entire dish with a single utensil. But if it needs a second cutlery then the knife is held in the right hand and the fork/spoon in the left.

The spoon is used a supportive implement when used with fork. At the end of a meal you should place knife and fork together (with no space in between, which indicates the meal would continue or resting between the meal) halfway across the plate a six ‘O’ clock position.

The other style of indicating of ending a meal course is lay your knife and fork side by side diagonally on your plate, the knife blade faces inward. Etiquette, be it on table, conversation or grooming are attributes that people appreciate.