The Perfect Gentleman Issue 7 | Page 23

Meeting & Greeting People from Around the World by Ruairidh Bulger The world has become much smaller over the last 100 years or so. The advent of powered flight in December 1903, the ability to travel the world has become increasing easy, and more accessible than ever before. People, as a rule, go on holiday much more than they used to, and travel to more destinations than ever before. The chance to explore new countries has opened us up to the possibility of meeting many more people from different countries, and different cultures, is an ever growing reality for many of us. We want to be able to immerse ourselves in the day to day lives of a new community, and to understand their customs, and their lives, and be abel to learn from each other. To be able to make the most of any such opportunities that might come our way, we would need to ensure that we are not blowing our chances with a bad first impression. We want to be opening doors, not having them slam in our faces because we accidentally caused offence before we even had the chance to finish our “Hellos”. So how do we greet people? How do we know what is the right thing to do? The answers are almost always straightforward. For most of the world, when a Gentleman is greeting someone of the same sex, the handshake should always be the first option. Mannered Gentleman 23