I think today’s phrase will make you look good when you use it, because the Japanese phrase has the following meanings:

 
■ “Go ahead.” or “After you.” in an elevator, at a door of a building, and so on.
■ “Please help yourself.” for meal sharing/ dining/ social eating, and etc.
■ “This is for you.” when you give a gift to someone.
■ “Here it is.” when you give someone something that the person was looking for or wanted.
■ Often, the phrase means “please” in English. For example, “This way, please.”,  “Have a seat, please.” and so on.
 
In situations above, you just simply say, “どうぞ: Do-u-zo.” This sounds like a combination “dough” and short “zo” from “zone.”  So, pronounce only bold letters in “dough zo[ne].”
 

I’m going to give you some examples.
 
(1)  Imagine that you are in an elevator with a beautiful lady. The lady and you are trying to get out of the elevator at the same time. Then, you would say, “osaki-ni-dou-zo (dough zo[ne]).” Which means “go ahead” or “after you.” “Osaki-ni” is “ahead” in this case.
 
(2) Let’s say that your meeting with a client is almost over, and he put his gift for you on the table and said, “dou-zo (dough zo[ne]).” That is “this is for you.”
 
(3) When you go to a noodle restaurant in Japan, you noticed that there’re no chopsticks on the tray of your food. You may ask a server, “o-ha-shi, ku-da-sa-i (Could you give me chopsticks?).”  Then, the server come back and give it to you saying, “dou-zo (dough zo[ne]).” This means “here it is.”
 
Then, you need to say, “a-ri-ga-to (thank you).”
 
Are you kind of getting to know the meaning of the word “dou-zo”?
 
This is a very convenient word and we often use this. This is a little bit formal word. So, maybe you don’t use it among friends.
 
When you are in Japan, pay attention to what service providers say in department stores, restaurants, and shops, and you will hear “dou-zo” everywhere.
 
Thanks for reading!