INFORMATIVE SPEECH OUTLINE
DINING ETIQUETTES & CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS
SPECIFIC PURPOSE: The purpose of my speech is to inform audience about dining etiquettes
in Japanese culture.
INTRODUCTION: “Understanding languages and other cultures builds bridges. It is the fastest
way to bring the world closer together and to Truth. Through understanding, people will be
able to see their similarities before differences.” Said Suzy Kassem, an American writer and
multi-faceted artist of Egypt origin in her book rise up and solute to the sun. This quote
resonates with me because I personally am very interested in learning about new cultures and
when it comes to learning about new cultures there are different aspects of it from where you
can start for example their language, fashion, art etc. so if I ask you that if you have to learn
something about another culture from which aspect of it you will start? You see different
people have different interest and for me it’s FOOD. It’s always food when it comes to learning
something about a new culture and with food comes dining etiquettes.
Good Morning everyone. This is Alveena Khursheed and as you all might have already guessed
by now that I have selected image 3 from LMS and came up with the topic “Dining Etiquettes and
Cultural Expectations”. It is important to have knowledge about dining etiquettes because as a student if
we go to a foreign country for an exchange program it will help you connecting more affectively with
people from different cultures also when you step into practical life it would help develop skills for
handling corporate dinner meetings with people coming from diverse backgrounds. Today in my
speech I am going to tell you about dining etiquettes in Japan and due to time constraint I am
only going to focus on “don’ts” of Japanese dining culture.
You might be wondering why I specifically selected Japanese. It is because food is a huge part of
Japanese culture and for them having a meal goes beyond just eating. The thing which actually
peaked my interest is that despite of rapid modernization of society Japanese people are still
connected to their roots/traditions when it comes to have a meal.
CENTRAL IDEA: Having knowledge on dining etiquettes in different cultures is one way of showing
respect to their cultures and it will definitely help you live efficiently around the world.
BODY OUTLINE:
I. Now let’s start with learning the things that you should not do at a dining table is Japan. Starting
with seating arrangements.
A. Do not sit just anywhere on the table. If you are invited somewhere wait for the host to
guide you to your seat. And always leave the middle position for your seniors (in terms of
age or business status) because in Japanese culture middle position at the table is
considered to be the most respectful position.
II. Chopsticks or “Ohashi” as they call it on japan is an integral part of Japanese dining culture.
Japanese people prefer to use only chopsticks to eat their meal. If you use them properly you
can win friends but using them wrong can even offend people. Let’s learn some don’ts of
chopsticks usage in japan.
A. Do not rub your chopsticks together. It gives the impression to the host that you are
thinking that the pair of chopsticks that they gave you are cheap.
B. Do not stand chopsticks upright in bowl of food. It is a traditional practice at Japanese
funeral where they offer food to deceased soul in this manner. So it reminds people of
death and also considered to bring bad luck.
C. Do not stab the food with one chopstick and bring it to your mouth. This is considered
extremely disrespectful in Japan.
D. Do not pass food from chopsticks to chopsticks. It’s a huge NO
1. This rule comes from the custom of Buddhism where the bones of cremated deceased
were collected from chopsticks and passed from one funeral worker to another and
collected in a vase called “URN”
E. Do not place your chopsticks in a crossed manner because it gives the impression to the
host or cook that you did not like their food.
III. After you are done eating rest your chopsticks on a side and never on top of the bowl because it
is similar to an old ritual done for dead people.
A. In Japanese culture one should always return the dishes as they were before a meal because
it indicates that you enjoyed the meal and are thankful to the host or cook and say
“Gochisousamadeshita” which again thank you for the food.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion having a meal in japan is not just about eating experience but it is a
whole experience with a set of etiquettes that everyone must have to follow at a dining place. Besides
Japanese etiquettes a message which I want you all to take from my speech is that by learning dining
etiquettes you also learn about beliefs and values of people of that culture and having knowledge about
them is way of showing respect to their culture. And it will help you living/working smoothly in a diverse
environment.
Video Recording Link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1vXY_RLb4W1swFairYqjoMGJPOgU3y2uM?usp=sharing
