Business Etiquette: How To Make A Correct Greeting

NOTE: This is a book excerpt from A Beginner’s Guide to Business Etiquette: Mastering Good Manners is now Blissfully Simple by Crista Tharp. Related: Top 3 Tips For Telephone Etiquette We all want to be treated with respect, and it starts with the very first greeting. The following are the guidelines to greeting someone the appropriate way.

Meeting Someone For The First Time:

• Stand when someone new comes into the room (whether you are a man or woman).
• Do make eye contact and smile!
• Offer your right hand out-stretched with palm facing left to shake hands.
• Your grip should be firm, but not a bone crusher.
• A handshake should last as long as it takes you and the other person to say your names.
• Introduce yourself by making direct eye contact and saying your first and last name.
• If you didn’t catch their name the first time, ask them politely to repeat it.
• At the end of the meeting, shake hands again and say how nice it was to meet them. Use their first name.
• Follow up if you promised to send them something, call them, or anything else. Follow up is a key to success!

Introducing Someone Else:

• Generally, you introduce the younger to the older; the junior executive to the senior executive; and a colleague to a client.
• If you have forgotten someone’s name, politely tell them you have forgotten their name and they will repeat it for you.
• Always try to include a fact about each person in your introduction.

For example: “Julie Baley, I would like to introduce you to Dan Green, our new Vice President. Dan (or Mr. Green), this is Ms. Baley, our new client who owns ABC Event Company. Julie (or Ms. Baley) just received the top Event Planner Award and Dan (or Mr. Green) received that award five years ago.”

• Always use a formal title such as Doctor or Judge if possible.
• Try to refrain from using nicknames unless you feel the person would prefer it.
• Always make sure to speak slowly and clearly so you can be heard and understood correctly.

One Last Thing:

Remember, people love it when you know and use their names. It is important to do your best to always remember and pronounce names correctly. There are several tips and techniques available to you if you have problems remembering names. Consider it an investment in your etiquette tool box.

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