We will have said that word, Hello, for the millionth time before quietly slipping into the night.
When the telephone was first used, Alexander Graham Bell suggested “What is asked?” for greetings. Finally, we settled for Hello.
It acknowledges the other, and ourselves. Greetings as bridges, not barriers.
And not just word. We look the other person in the eyes, they ours.
Hello often goes with or is followed by a handshake (tactile).
Eastern folks form opinion and impressions about a person before getting to know him (face reading).
The non-verbal aspect of communication, according to some, takes up 80 per cent of total interaction.
Scientists have studied the importance of smell and sound in human connection.
So in “Hello” we learn a lot about the other person (Dennis Rodman and the leader of North Korea these days: basket-ball fans).
Even those who don’t say Hello, already sent out a message: I don’t want to acknowledge you, or have anything to do with you.
In social mixer, we sign up at the reception, and write our names on the “Hello, my name is…..” stickers (make sure it’s stuck on your right chest, in direct line of sight when you shake hands).
In Impressive Impressions, author Vu Pham talks about the first 6 seconds. He went into details about “resetting” your psyche throughout the day to refresh and be better prepared for each mini-encounter.
In business or in life, people do judge each other by appearance.
In fact, people have already done us a favor by glancing (let’s say in a crowded subway). Crocodile Dundee, having just arrived in NYC from an Australian swamp, had to climb a light pole, just to say Hello to every passer-by. He still brings his small-town mentality to a world-class metropolis.
As the saying goes, you can take a man out of ….(town), but you can’t take the ….(town) out of the man.
With jet lag and jet blues, it takes time to sort out our sense of self. Our bodies might be here, but our heads elsewhere.
Harlem Shake in Estonia, Gangnam Style….well in Harlem.
Global citizens or not, we still need to say that Hello, a million times before saying our final Pope-like Goodbye. Press Reset, and make it worth your while. Hello,…I just gotta to let you know.
Thang Nguyen 555 