By Garry Garretson
Has the handshake been replaced by the fist bump, chest bump or hug?
When is it OK to initiate each, or do we just react to others lead?
What if the two of you just stand there waiting for the other one to act?
How long do you wait before doing something?
Is it a male/female thing? Or a male/male thing? Or a female/female thing?
Dons venue matter? Does being on the basketball court, at church, or in the corporate board room matter?
What if it is a family reunion, good friends coming for dinner, or seeing your neighbor in the store?
Does age matter with teens doing one thing, twenty-something’s do another and older people doing another?
Is it just hierarchy or based on who is more aggressive or more nervous?
Does how long we have known the other person dictate the greeting?
Does status or hierarchy position matter? C.E.O, Manager or front-line employee need to know.
When doing the fist bump with little kids, is it necessary to do the fingers extended explosion at the end?
How about pointing the pointer finger or giving a thumbs up, maybe with a gun click sound?
There must be rules but where are they?
The “hand hug” occurs when shaking the right hand and grasping the wrist with the left hand.
Typically this is done by politicians or those wanting to greet warmly trying to win a decision.
Or one can do the shoulder slap with the left hand to show friendliness.
How proper is the head nod and a coordinated “hey” or maybe a wink?
Do you verbally greet the other person before the hand shake, during the hand shake or after it?
How about the high five? Is that just for sports or can you give it to a salesperson closing a big deal?
Or can you give the Pastor a high five after a great sermon? I do.
What is a person to do?
How about the clinched fist above the shoulders to show unity or indicating victory or success?
What are the open palm hand-slap and other gyrations back and forth at eye level?
What is a person to do?
Can you imagine the potential complications with sexual harassment or judged professionalism?
Where do you hands g go and how tight do you hug or how long to you hold it?
In business, the hand shake should be dry, firm, two pumps from the elbow.
Firmness can be different for the 200 pound weight lifter and the 100 pound couch potato.
Do activities prior to the encounter matter? Does coming from a workout in the gym require a verbal greeting only?
Does how each person is dressed dictate the action? Gym shorts or a tuxedo matter.
Who initiates the contact? What if the Queen of England just presents her fingers to be kissed?
Does personal space matter? How close to you get to the other person before you shake, bump, hand slap or greet?
What is a person to do?
What role does culture play in this decision? Boy Scouts shake with their left hand.
Those engaged in fencing shake with their left hand, as their right one holds the sword.
Some secret societies have a special shake. What if the person’s tradition is to shake both hands?
Some societies hit the heart with their palm after the shake to show their connection.
What about those societies those require no contact between sexes on in certain environments?
Let’s not even discuss the political side of bowing versus the hand shake.
How do you greet you fellow combat Veteran to show you are brothers or sisters beyond a nod, a HI, asking where they served and saying “welcome home”?
With a focus on health, should we discourage the handshake as the tool that spreads colds and flu?
How about eye contact before, during and after the hand shake? Does that matter?
Should we teach all of this in schools? Do we mandate a class for greeting etiquette?
Do we have a little 3×5 card with the proper greeting?
Should we just ask the other person how they wish to be greeted?
What is a person to do?
Maybe we should bring back the hand shake as the only way to greet?
But you must hug your Sister, Grandma, Auntie, etc.
What is a person to do?
Addendum 2020:
Now that “social distancing” is the norm, do we ever go back to personal contact?
Do we invent something new?
Is eye contact the only greeting we can feel safe to use?
It is time for the inventors to come up with an answer before we return from home isolation?
This must be determined, along with distance learning, home offices and a virus cure.
