Importance of Hello

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Greetings are a socialization behavior that most people take for granted because greetings are so pervasive in society. But from a young age, people are taught the appropriate greetings for different circumstances. Studying everyday life can help us better understand why we act the ways we do. Sociologist Erving Goffman points out that greetings are part of our face-to-face contacts, phone conversations, and letters.
One area that greetings illuminate is status. For example, which person says “hello” first and how someone is greeted can be part of the stratification system in a society. In the past, a man removed his hat and bowed to greet a prince or king; this behavior showed his lower rank in the society. This greeting became truncated over time. Later, people began to greet equals by just lifting the hat and then by touching the hat. Finally, a motion toward the hat was enough of a greeting among friends.

Greetings also show cultural differences. In France, people kiss each other on the cheeks as a friendly, everyday greeting, but this type of behavior is not the norm in the United States. In fact, activities that are acceptable in one country may seem odd or even be taboo in another country. Learning what is acceptable and what is prohibited is important for travelers, especially for those conducting international business. In the United Sates, most business introductions begin with a firm, short (three- to four-second) handshake. In Europe, business associates also shake hands, but the handshake is usually more formal. Business greetings in Europe rarely display the friendly backslaps that are sometimes seen in the United States. In Japan, people customarily bow as a greeting, and many business people have learned to look carefully at how the bow is done. The depth of a bow reflects the status between the two people.

In Arab countries, men often greet each other with a hand on the right shoulder and a kiss on each cheek. Though a handshake is usually used when meeting people from other regions, it may be done with two hands and be more of a handhold. In Latin American coun­tries, male friends hug each other when they meet, and women kiss each other on the cheeks. In business settings, the handshake is typically the norm at first; however, after a third or fourth meeting, a hug might be given. Visitors are generally allowed some flexibility in greeting ceremonies, but because greetings are so ingrained, a native of a country may be ostracized if he or she fails to follow proper behavior.
Linguist C. A. Ferguson, as an informal experiment, decided to deviate from conventional greeting behavior at work. For two days in a row, he didn’t respond to his secretary’s “good morning.” He re­ported that the atmosphere was unpleasant on the first day and tense on the second day. By the third day, to alleviate the stress and save their working relationship, he discontinued the experiment. What people say and do in what may seem like simple greetings can have more importance than people imagine.
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