What do you do when you meet someone new? Kiss them on the cheek? Shake their hand? Say hello and feel a bit awkward?
This week’s 38th annual World Hello Day, a celebration designed to highlight the message that communication is important to preserving peace, and in which people can participate simply by greeting ten people, has thrown the British social minefield of meeting and greeting someone new into sharp relief. Some would argue that there is no longer an easy set of rules dictating how Britons greet one another, and compared to our continental neighbours, whose questions relating to kissing acquaintances are more ‘how many?’ rather than ‘if?’, Britons are often stumped and embarrassed when meeting someone for the first time ‒ a kiss feels too intimate; a handshake too formal.
This confusion was mirrored in the range of responses our panellists gave when we asked about the British rules of interaction.
Some were pretty clear, if not downright relaxed, about the different manners suited to different situations.
Several people felt that Brits should stick with a traditional hand shake and should leave kissing to the 'continentals'.
And while kissing and hugging was not wholeheartedly advocated by any of the respondents we asked, a couple did feel that the British handshake was much too formal.
Many respondents took the opportunity to point out that they felt British manners were in a bit of a mess, with some saying that they thought manners needed improving, and others simply confused about how to greet someone for the best.
It seems that many of those asked feel that Brits, once famous for polite reserve, have rebelled and gone to extremes; now either too familiar with people or failing to acknowledge them at all. In most comments received though, there was an underlying hankering for a return to a more polite manner and many felt that the ever-present North-South divide was a factor.
However, one panellist didn't know what all the fuss was about, saying, 'Hello Day is daft! I greet people in different ways, hug them, shake hands with them and also smile and say hello to people in the street who I don't really know....and I live in Hackney!'
