Are you ready for dinner, dancing and a date? That’s right, prom season is here. And with that in mind, did you think to buy your date a corsage or a boutonniere?That’s one of the questions that the director of the Executive School of Protocol Trudy Snaith is prepared to answer.Ms Snaith, who is a certified corporate etiquette and international protocol consultant, teaches etiquette classes to young people, teens and adults.She says good etiquette is logical and is simply based on good manners.Ms Snaith said she teaches all ages, from three-year-olds to adults, but she sees a lot of teenagers at this time of year.Ms Snaith explained that in today’s world parents are increasingly busy so there is less family interaction at meal times.“Years ago you had more time and a lot of the mothers weren’t out working, and you had a meal where family got together and talked about things,” she said. “But with parents being so busy, some are working two jobs or even if one parent is just working one job - it involves more than just nine to five.“Those kinds of things get pushed to the side, but young people still need it, and it is not a fact that they (the parents) don’t know it, they just don’t have the time. These are things that make life nicer.” Regarding proms, Ms Snaith said a young gentleman should get his young lady a corsage and she should in turn have a boutonnière for him.“It is not old fashioned and it is something that is very much expected, the boys should have flowers for the girls and the girls should have a boutonnière for the boys.“That is usually expected and quite nice. The thing about the prom is that it is learning how to interact - many years ago this was the first time that girls and boys went out together - but today dating starts a lot earlier and it is not an initial just meeting someone.“But the whole idea is to show respect for each other and treat each other nicely.“And yes there should be flowers. He should check to see what colour her dress is and also ask what her preference is, because she might have a silk dress that she doesn’t want anything pinned on. “She might prefer something on her wrist or something she could hold in her hand. Sometimes over the passage of time people have forgotten that it is the little things that you do that can make a really big difference in the total outcome of the experience of the event.“For instance if the boy or the girl can’t afford to go to the florist, Bermuda has so many flowers they can put together something very nice and it would serve the same purpose because the act of giving the flowers means that you are thinking of someone.”Asking a girl on a date can be a daunting process for many young men, but Ms Snaith says they should bite the bullet and get on with it as soon as possible. “He should give her quite a bit of advance notice - it should not be a last minute thing,” she said.“I think that these young people are thinking about these proms way in advance and they probably do get themselves sorted out as to who their date is going to be, but they should not wait until the last minute to ask someone.“Also when asked, the girl should be clear as to whether she is accepting it or not and let him know. “And if she is not going to accept it, she shouldn’t be mean about it, because it is really an honour to be asked because it is really an honour to be asked and she should bear that in mind.“Also once you accept a date, you should honour it and not back out because a better offer comes along. These are things that young people have to be told, because it is not the correct thing to do. They have to remember that this is just a date, it is not a life long commitment.”Of the last lesson, she said: “This goes for anything in life, once you make a decision you should stick with it.“Most rules of etiquette and good manners are based on logic and when you speak to someone about it, they understand.”Also if the boy is picking the girl up at her house, Ms Snaith said he should be prepared to meet her parents. “He needs to introduce himself,” she said. “I think it will be very impressive for him to be clear and to find out from the parents if there is anything they expect from him.“If he shows what wonderful manners he has, then he is on easy street after that. It is not just taking a girl out on a date, he has to think of the parents as well, because if he doesn’t make a good impression with the parents, it might be the last time he sees that girl.”On arriving at the prom there are a few guidelines to keep in mind. “There are correct ways of escorting a girl… and it is difficult to give a two minute lesson, but if you don’t know, please offer her your right arm when you go into a room. “It just makes it very nice. She also might have on new shoes and it helps her to enter the room gracefully. It also makes a good impression and it indicates that he is thinking of her.”For dining skills and figuring out the cutlery, she said the easiest advice that she could give is to start from the outside and work your way in. Also do not leave your date for the evening.Above all, the most important thing to remember is the basic concept of manners and to consider the feelings of others, she said.“If you remember that, everything else falls into place. If you are giving them flowers you are considering their feelings and that makes them feel good and they would appreciate that; if you pull the chair out, this is just a sign of respect.“If you are on time, you are considering the feelings of someone because they may be sitting there for hours waiting for you to come.“If you think about that during your date, then everything falls into place. And at the end the ‘thank you,’ and even if he has paid for everything then he should also say thank you for a lovely time.”