Business Toasts

Unless your toast has been designated as the principal one of the evening, keep your remarks short and to the point. The principal toast is a small speech of sorts, and it should be composed in writing and rehearsed by the speaker in advance.

Toasting Etiquette

The host toasts first. Gain the crowd's attention by standing and raising your glass; banging on a glass with a knife should be considered a measure of last resort.

At formal occasions, the toaster stands, as do the people toasting; the person being toasted remains seated.

The guests respond by taking a sip of their drinks - but never emptying the glass. A person who doesn't drink alcohol should join in as well, toasting with a soft drink or even water.

The person being toasted does not drink to himself.

After the toast, the person who is being toasted rises and says thank you. He may also raise his own glass to propose a toast to the host, the chef, or anyone else he sees fit to honor.

At private or small informal dinners, it is acceptable for everyone-toaster and toastee included -to remain seated.

Business Toast Examples:

To all the pleasures that other people's money pays for.

To goodwill, which Marshall Fidd called, "the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy."

May we always be fired with enthusiasm for our work, and never fired enthusiastically by our clients.

To the entrepreneur - he knows money doesn't talk nowadays, it goes without saying.

To the company we keep profitable.

To Calvin Coolidge, the man who said, "The business of America is business."

Toasts to Work

To the truth behind Freud's definition of normality as the ability to love - and to work.

To work-the easiest device man has invented to escape boredom.

May the work that you have
Be the play that you love.
- E. Geberding

Here's to work - may we never be without it.

Related:

Find great toasts to various professions from Accountants to Stockbrokers in our toasts and toasting etiquette section.

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