Dear Aunty B,
Handshakes are a weird custom, but one we grow up with. I find the most difficult scenario is the end of a meeting with potential suppliers, everyone stands up, and then criss-crosses hands to shake.
Then, you show your guest to the door, and have yet another round of shakes, followed by sometimes even a third… can you overdo a shake session?
When it comes to females, I figure that I’d rather be guilty of a full-on crunch than the fairy shake.
But what’s worse is the male that feels somehow obligated to kiss rather than handshake. Sometimes on the first meeting!
Any comments on that one?
Competitionsguy
Dear CompetitionsGuy,
Yes, I know the round of shakes is annoying. Ever been to Japan? Every tried to leave a conversation with a Japanese person? You keep bowing and nodding and saying sayonara until you are all out the door where you straighten up, rub your aching lower back and breathe a sigh of relief.
But we are not Japanese. So on the shake session, take control. Keep the conversation going until the lift or the door. And only then do the shake. That is unless you have just signed a deal and then a robust shaking is mandatory.
Ditto the kissing. Personally I like kissing men. But like most women I like to know them first. So men out there, listen up. Stop kissing women in the workplace unless they kiss you first. Sexist? So what.
Good luck,
Your Aunty B
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