Do you think it is good manners to touch another person in greeting?

Hi kalamity. I think that the very common way of greeting somebody that you've met for the first time would be a hand shake.I'm from the Philippines and as I've observed, shaking hands is the one being practiced here by most people although I've met some who prefer a kiss on the cheek when they greet people. When it comes to friends though, it is quite common for people here to hug with a little kiss on the cheek, we call it "beso beso". As the saying goes, "different strokes for different folks". Thanks. Happy mylottin!

i'll answer it one by one dani lol..btw its a great topic n uve got lots of responses hahah u are always good at it sucky, i knew it ! LOL about the habit inside ur flight environment, i think its alright coz they felt close with u, felt that u all have been through a rough flights together sometimes. those hugs n kises can make u all feel much better in creating a good connection in between. it's some of a cultural too in my country dani, specially inside a communities/groups/workplace. also, we wont do it between man to woman, or woman to man, so its just between the same gender. lol but mostly men rare to do it..there are some people that have no problem to do it, they wont keep the distance between and will treat us like we're their bestfriends. but some are not and tend to just shake hands, no hugs or kissing. if me lol, i ehm..it depends to whom im hugging or kissing lol..mostly i just shake hands with someone i just met. if with my close friends i will hug them coz i feel close with them like we're a family, and that makes me feel good too dani.

A hand shake is fine with me but not a hug or kiss. There should be some space. I will only allow someone to touch me if I am comfortable with him/her.

I tis not common to do that in my home country either. I feel strange when people do that to me but just kinda need to accpet it to be polite here.

I live in south america, and even If you dont know someone, if its a man you shake hands, and if its a woman you kiss her in the cheek. Its a cultural thing, but its very interesting for me knowing that shis behavior is not common in other countries

In chinese tradition,it's incredible if you kiss others in public. though the society is changing,it's also not common to kiss others when greeting...

I'm Canadian, and quite used to hugging, and the occasional kiss by friends and acquaintances. My youngest son married a girl from Laos, East Asia. Some time ago, my wife and I, with our son and daughter-in-law went to Laos to meet the relatives she had never met. We were very impressed with these Laotians. They were almost overly generous, very loving and courteous, they did not shake hands, but bowed in greeting. Because of the language barrier we could not converse with them, but our Daughter-in-Law interpreted for us. When we were about to leave, everyone was bowing and smiling. I told my daughter-in-law. I'd like to hug everybody. She said," Why don't you?" I replied, " No its not customary, I just can't do it!" And I felt very sad at that moment.

Hi, kalamity1! Welcome to myLot!! Well, in our country in the United States, from what I see, it all just depends on what relationship that you may have with a person for this type of greeting to take place. In church this takes place a lot, with me of course. I get many hugs and kisses from many women, mostly older. It is a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug. With family it is the same way too, if they miss me or had not seen me in a very long time. I shake hands with men and women when it comes to a job, business opportunity or where I just meet someone for the first time. But other than that, when I just see a total stranger on a day to day basis, we don't just kiss and hug, if anything we will speak and smile and say hello with our mouths. We may also nod our heads at one another when passing by each other somewhere in public.. I know many countries say they hug and kiss... It is the men that do this to another man.. I guess that it normal to them.. But, I don't really see that much here, not unless someone is a homosexual . But as for a mother or father kissing their child, then they may do so on their lips, no further. That is normal. And with a baby, it is okay to kiss them quickly on the lips. (Like a simple peck). I do this with my kids every now and then.. This is what I have seen being normal greetings for a person in The United States, and this is from my own personal experience as well. If something else happens differently than mentioned above, then I am excluded from it..

I share the same feeling you did. I came from Philippines where greeting friends would only be as far as shaking hands and rarely on hugging and kissing. We're quite distant and conservative in most ways. When I came here in the USA, I really felt awckward when people hug and kiss me when we meet but later am used to it because I can see that it's their way of saying hi and hello to each other. I appreciate it very much tho. Like you do, am also used to say "Sir/Maam" to people w/ higher ranks and those in authorities but I find it a little awckward because people are just calling everybody by their names regardless their status. That's quite different from where I came.

I understand there are many cultures out there...but out of respect for the other person No I would not do it. I would shake hands if they gestured, other wise I would smile and introduce myself. Family of course is different. I would want the person to feel comfortable not antsy and confined.

Hi kalamity1, I am an Indian,in Indian people don't like this,here every one follow the culture and they don't touch other persons.they only give shake hands.mainly this is cultural differences,some countries follow this culture and some countries don't follow this culture.

I think a formal handshake is enough for greeting a person you've never met before... and more than that, like a kiss or a hug, are meant for closer kinds of relationship//

I do. but i hate being touch

I definitely think it's the culture. In europe they do the cheek kisses and when that happened to me I wasn't really sure what to do! In Canada we just shake hands if you are meeting someone for the first time.

Greeting customs vary from place to place. Hand shakes, hug even sometimes just a simple hello and a smile. In our country it depends on how well we know the person and the relationship. Traditionally we greet people with folded hands. In some countries senior people are addressed with Sir, while in some they are addressed with Mr. Nothing wrong with manners really. Sometimes it takes us time to adjust to a new culture.

Hi kalamity, I am from the United States , and have retired to live in Mexico. We are in the Yucatan! I know what you mean about the people here . They do touch more , and kiss and hug more . I like it . I think it's charming . The people here are very warm and friendly and they show it . They always say good morning , always smile when passing on the street. I get a kiss on the cheek everyday , and I think its sweet .

hi,nice to meet you here.I'm a newcomer in mylot*@*.I come from China, as for the matter you refered above,I found that Chinese people don't like to be too close to each other.

I live in canada and people usually shake hands at first meeting but friends hug a lot everyone hugs each other when someone is leaving thats pretty normal but I know a lot of party people and people that are nice and like to be outgoing so maybe i'm just lucky:) but I don't mind hugging people when I first meet them as long as it's not weird but it's only weird if one person is awkward, or something weird is going on or something