You’re at a business meeting, retreat, or awards ceremony. The room gets quiet, libations are poured, and it’s time for a toast. Some people become eloquent, others become flustered, and a few just croak out a quick “cheers” and let it go at that. Great tributes require a little thought and planning, and it helps to know something about the nature of toasts.

According to Jared Seitzer, sommelier at Damon Gordon’s Quarter Kitchen at the Ivy Hotel in San Diego, “toasting first began in ancient Greece and Rome, where poisonings were popular.” To put anxious guests at ease, the host served everyone wine from a common decanter and took the first gulp himself. When it became clear that it wasn’t a drink of death, the host would raise his cup and invite his friends to partake of the wine in good health. Burnt toast was often added to the libation to act as a filter for highly acidic wines. If poisoning was the goal, the toast masked the taste of the toxins.

“Today,” Seitzer says, “the sommelier may taste wine or champagne before a ceremony to make sure the quality is good; poisoning isn’t really a problem.”

Over the centuries, protocols for toasting have evolved, and not respecting them constitutes a social faux pas. “Clinking glasses with someone diagonally across a dinner table invites bad luck,” cautions Marcie Lieberman, managing director of the Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe and a toast aficionado. “The clinking should only be side-to-side or directly across the table. It’s also very important to make and maintain eye contact with whomever you are toasting.”

The custom of clinking glasses is thought to have originated with the early Christians, who produced the bell-like noise to banish the devil. If you have the urge to clink but the person you are honoring is across the room, just raise your glass and make the toast. Some people think that toasting without clinking is more sophisticated, but there is no unanimity of opinion on the matter. No one should drink before everyone is poured and the toast is completed. At a wedding, it’s customary for the best man or matron of honor to propose a toast, and including the celebrants enhances the cohesion of the event. So, for example, a toast may include words like: “All of us are here today to honor Kathy and Kevin,” or “We all wish you long life, great dinners, excellent wines, and as many dogs, babies, and bicycles as you can handle.” Appropriate humor, of course, is always an icebreaker. If the toast is a roast, the boundaries of acceptability are much wider.

“In a business setting, it is the host or highest-ranking person who toasts first,” observes Seitzer. “This hierarchy is especially important for Japanese businessmen.” A toast may go on for as long as l0 minutes, but three to five minutes is the optimal length. If there is a second toast, it should have a different focus from the first. When honoring employees or colleagues for their good work and success, it’s always best to mention specific accomplishments.

Generally, alcoholic beverages are used for toasting, and a quick quaff or a long draught is acceptable. Teetotalers sometimes take a small sip to show solidarity with the honoree, or they may imbibe sparkling cider instead of champagne. In Japan, Korea, and China, downing the entire drink is appropriate. In the Navy, it’s a no-no to toast with water, which is thought to consign the honoree to a watery grave. A “silent toast” may be solemnly made for a departed friend or fallen hero.

There have always been different toasting traditions around the globe. In the Caucasus, where storytelling is valued, toasts often begin with a parable and several metaphors before getting down to the dedication. In Germany, it is good form to clink the glass of every person at the table. According to Paul Dickson (Toastsbook. com), people sat during the toast when Charles II was on the throne. A legend maintains that the custom arose after the king slammed his head into a beam while he was being toasted aboard the ship Royal Charles. In the early days of the American frontier, “Here’s mud in your eye” was spoken to farmers from the East about to set out for new lands in the West. Their friends in the local tavern were wishing them flecks of good-quality, damp soil that would emerge while they were plowing. The Irish often wax lyrical and witty when they toast, with zingers like: “May neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you.”

In the Netherlands, one says, “Proost.” In Poland, it’s “Na Zdrowie.” Romanians say “Noroc” and the Basques proclaim “Topa!”

In America, pundits and comics provide us with great toast material, especially for celebratory occasions. “Never go to bed angry—stay up and fight,” Phyllis Diller advises married couples. “Love is blind—marriage is the eye-opener,” quips Pauline Thomason.