A handshake instead of a kiss?
We are a family of huggers, so I was quite surprised when my daughter recently returned from a few months in Spain, and instead of a hug, I was met with a kiss on each cheek. This was, according to my daughter, the accepted form of greeting someone in Spain.
This was on the heels of a recent news item on hugging in the workplace. A company called the Creative Group did a survey of executives and 7 out of 10 executives surveyed discouraged hugging at work. But what if you are doing business with someone from another culture? You need to be aware of cultural differences in greetings. For an interesting comparison of various countries, check out this page that compares cultural etiquette around the world.
And for print sources discover a few of these titles on this topic that are available from the Toronto Public Library:
How will you greet your next international client?
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