More Greeting Etiquette

(Back in April (“Seasoned Greetings” 4/19/16) we talked about how to greet someone when you forgot their name. This is tip #2 in my series on Greeting Etiquette.)

When I see someone at work for the first time each day I greet them. In this scenario let’s call this person Marie. If I see Marie 10 minutes later and she’s with Ted I greet Ted. This all sounds appropriate. But, you can’t stop there. No. Why not, you ask? You’ve already greeted each of the people, Marie first, and then Ted. You’ve done your job. Well, there’s more to it than that folks. The third person (Ted) does not know that I’ve already greeted Marie, so a simple, “Marie and I greeted earlier” statement is appropriate in this situation. This lets Ted know that you’re not being rude to Marie and that you’re not leaving her out in any way. Your courtesy in this situation does two things: it makes people feel better about themselves, and secondly, it encourages them to be more courteous to each other. Let’s never forget that we’re living in a society.

Try this approach tomorrow at work with your co-workers and see if it doesn’t start you off on an excellent day. Just don’t forget their names!!