Five Life Changing Ways to Greet People at Work
2 min readFeb 3, 2022
Matty Kerr is co-creator with John Brancaccio of The Working Experience. He is also a filmmaker and published author. Listen to our podcast on iTunes and Spotify and visit our website: theworkingexperience.com for videos, merchandise and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Linked In, Instagram, and Twitter.
- The Hand Shake. Very solid greeting. To do this properly, keep your arm and wrist loose but not limp. Grab the other person’s hand with your arm at approximately a 45 degree angle. Two vigorous pumps. Don’t hang on too long, that is creepy. Not too strong, but let them know you’re there. Be careful if you are holding a hot cup of coffee.
- The Loud Greeting. Lots of fun. Yell, “Heya buddy!” This is great in a quiet office. It really draws attention to you and lets everyone know what a fun guy you are. The other person will probably reply with, “Awesome, buddy!” or something like that. Don’t let them out shout you though.
- The High Five. You are “That Guy”. Nothing says, “I’m a blast!” like a big old high five. People wanna hang out with that guy. Yell, “Hey guy!” and hold up your hand for the high five. I guarantee that the other person will respond. However, if they hesitate yell, “Don’t leave me hanging bro!” The other person definitely doesn’t want to be seen as someone who leaves a bro “hanging”.
- The Two Handed Handshake. You are filled with empathy. This is establishes some awesome intimacy. Do the standard one handed shake and with your other hand, cover the top of the person’s hand. Pull the person in close, make lots of eye contact, nod sympathetically at whatever they are saying. People will want to come to you with their problems. That gives you power.
- The Hug. Dear Lord, this is the gold standard. If you can actually pull off hugging a coworker without being reported to Human Resources, you have arrived! Just channel Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors. Don’t be afraid to let them show. You are beautiful. Like a rainbow.
