Some forethought and organization will allow you and your guests to spend the dinner enjoying food and the conversation rather than navigating the flatware. Give yourself time for a last-minute wash if needed. Everyone at the table gets a place setting. Make sure that you allot a seat for every guest of yours. Flatware is placed evenly on either side of the plate in a manner comfortable to use by.
Forks go on the left, knives and spoons on the right.
The cutting edge of the knife should point towards the plate. Spoons go to the outside of knives. It may take a bit of fussing around the first few times out, but nothing impresses a guest so easily as a perfectly set table. A precisely set banquet of multiple settings creates a wonderful atmosphere. Even if it's just you and a guest, a placesetting helps you feel important on that special occasion when you turn off the television set and focus on the guest.