* BRITISH ETIQUETTE
British people consider punctuality very important. It is often considered impolite to arrive even a few minutes late. If you can’t keep an appointment, it is expected that you call the person you are meeting. You should arrive at the exact time specified for lunch, dinner, or appointments with professors, doctors, or other professionals.
It is proper to shake hands with everyone to whom you are introduced, both men and women. An appropriate response to an introduction is “Pleased to meet you.”
If you want to introduce yourself to someone, extend your hand for a handshake and say: “Hello, I am…”. Hugging is only for friends. A handshake is the most common form of greeting among the English and British people.
The usual formal greeting is “How do you do?” and a handshake. “How do you do?” is a greeting not a question and the correct response is to repeat “How do you do?” You say this when shaking hands with someone.
First person: How do you do?
Second person: How do you do?
“How are you?” is a question and the most common and polite response is “I am fine, thank you and you?”
Other greetings:
Nice to meet you.— Nice to meet you too.
Delighted to meet you. — Delighted to meet you too.
Glad to meet you. — Glad to meet you too.
Good morning. / Good afternoon. /Good evening.
Informal greetings: Hi or hello. Morning. /Afternoon. / Evening. (They drop the word “Good” in informal situations.)
They sometimes say “Cheers!” instead of “Thank you”. You may hear “cheers” instead of “goodbye”, what they really mean is “thanks and bye”.
Eating manners
The British generally pay a lot of attention to good table manners. Even young children are expected to eat properly with knife and fork. You shouldn’t do the following things:
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Never lick your knife. -
Never chew with your mouth open.
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Don’t put too much food in your mouth.
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Don’t slurp your food or eat noisily. Don’t keep your elbows on the table while you are eating.
