How do the most relationships start? With a greeting. There are multiple ways of greeting someone. Could be a handshake, a kiss, a handkiss, nodding of the head, a bow, a hug, taking of your hat, waving, winking en saluting.

Did you know there are tribes who greet each other by touching the genitalia? Hmmm... 

Let's focus on handshaking for now.  In the modern world it is one of the most common ways to greet. Wether it be at a first meeting or between old friends.

Original it came from the knights showing good fate and 'saying': I bare no arms. So you could say it was a sign of trust or reconciliation.

How do we shake hands in a good way, some tips:

• Offer a straight hand, do not offer it in a flat way or tilted. Also offer your hand coming from below the waist, not down from the chest.
• Move your head and body slightly forward. Try the opposite, it looks very weird...
• Make eye contact and smile sincerely at the same time
• When in England and people ask 'how do you do?' you should answer with the same question.
• The handshake may be firm but pay attention to ladies or people wearing jewellery. 
• Don't shake too long as it is sometimes perceived as awkward.
• Last but not least, never turn your hand upwards while shaking. It is a dominating gesture.

In most of our trainings we have a topic about etiquette or we include it as a bundle. Why is this so important to us?

Courtesy goes a long way

We sometimes use the phrase: customers may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. It is your knowledge, however little, of etiquette that will allow you to offer just that to your guest.
We are not talking about curtseying or bowing or another stiff upper lip behaviour but a genuine effort to make people at ease and offer that extra bit of comfort. Not only will it benefit them, it will also benefit you and your team. In certain situations, we do not know how to behave and that is quite normal. Any type of fear can be overcome by knowing what to do, right?

Let me give you a harsh example. You walk on the street and your friend falls to the floor, turning blue, unable to breath. If you are not trained in first aid techniques, if you don’t master this knowledge, you will not know what to do and panic. However, if you did have a first aid training, you would be helping your friend in the blink of an eye.

Exactly the same with etiquette. Wether it be a VIP celebrity coming in or you have a crisis situation with a difficult guest, your knowledge of etiquette will help you to remain calm, collected and ready to resolve the issue.

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How does this help your business then?

The world is full of culture and that makes it so beautiful. The different ways of greeting across cultures (did you know there are some tribes greeting each-other by touching the genitalia?) or even the philosophy behind giving presents can be different. However, at the end of the day we all are people living on the same planet and we try to fit in as much as possible.

In business we can be sometimes a bit too focused on the product, the sales process or the procedures of the sale itself. We often forget that we are selling to... people! We could tell you a lot of stories about people doing business with other people because of a feeling and not so much the product.

Here are a few tips in business etiquette:

• Always present your business card with two hands, thumbs to the side and face the text towards the receiver
• Try to remember how a customer takes his coffee and surprise him/her the next time by showing that you remembered, they will be blown away!
• Train your team the basics of etiquette: standing up when somebody enters the room, shaking hands correctly or table manners during a business lunch.

We assure you, all these handlings lead to feelings for your customer and they WILL notice the difference!