With respect to greeting people from other cultures it helps to know:
1. What the status is of the person you are greeting.
2. How much formality or informality is expected of you.
3. Whether you are expected to initiate the greeting or respond to that of the other person.
4. Whether a woman is greeted different from a man and, if so, how.
5. How children are greeted.
6. Whether bodily contact is acceptable and appropriate. Are you expected to simply bow and, if so, how low? Should you shake hands or even hug or kiss the person you are greeting? Is it appropriate to touch the other person, put an arm around the shoulder and the like?
7. Whether you should stand or sit close to or far from the person you are greeting?
8. What words you should you use when making your greeting?
9. How you should you use your voice. Will it be helpful to speak slowly or might this be interpreted as patronising? Is it more appropriate to speak loudly or softly? Should you keep talking or allow silence?
10. What facial expressions and body language is appropriate and inappropriate. For example, how might smiling be interpreted or misinterpreted? It would be offensive for people from many cultures if you were to sit with your feet on a desk or table pointed at them.
11. What level of eye contact is deemed appropriate or inappropriate. Does this vary between the sexes? In many cultures the way to honour people and show them respect is by lowering and averting one’s gaze. In other cultures direct eye contact is valued as a way of expressing honesty or that one is paying attention.
12. How long the greeting phase should last before one moves on to more substantial matters.
13. What topics of introductory conversation would be deemed appropriate or inappropriate. For example, in many cultural settings it is deemed appropriate to ask a person at the outset for his or her age and what income he or she is earning. In other cultural settings this may be very offensive. In many cultures it is essential to begin with questions and conversation about family and personal well-being, otherwise the effectiveness of subsequent communication is undermined.
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