"Coronavirus is changing the way the world says 'hello'." That's the word from Kelowna-based business etiquette coach Jennifer Grant who stopped in for an interview.
"Things such as the hug, the handshake, the nose-to-nose, the cheek to cheek, that's all rapidly changing," said Grant.
Whether you are ready to take a new approach to greet people, in other parts of the world it's already happening.
"It sounds funny, but it could be an elbow bump, it could be the hand over the heart with a nod," she said. "It could be a namaste greeting but there's several countries in Europe now that are formally dispensing with the original customs of how they would say 'hello'."
Make no mistake, when it comes to a business meeting, especially a first meeting, handshakes are important.
"People will judge you on your handshake," explained Grant, "as to whether you are competent or whether they will do business with you."
But there are ways to get past it without offending people. "To let someone know that you would prefer not to shake hands you should always be polite and courteous," she said, "and you should be honest as well."
Grant suggests saying something like "Kent, it's so nice to meet you. I would prefer not to shake hands. I'm observing all the protocols to be safe when it comes to coronavirus."
But don't expect the handshake to disappear any time soon. "It's probably going to take years, in fact, for that to happen," she told us. "We've been so ingrained for such a long time that the handshake is the appropriate way to acknowledge someone."
Still, it could happen.
"I could see it changing," she concluded. Then we wrapped up our interview with an elbow bump.
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