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Greeting colleagues

Britain
In Britain it is usual to greet the people you work with - your colleagues - with a "Hello", "Hi" or "Good morning" the first time you meet them in the day. "Good morning" is a bit more formal and "Hi" is something copied from North Americans. Colleagues usually call each other by their first name - "Hi, Peter. Hello, Marie."- but sometimes bosses are addressed with a Mr, Mrs or Ms - "Good morning, Mr Hayes".

France
In France the situation is very different. When colleagues greet each other for the first time in the day, three things will happen: men will shake hands with each other; men will shake hands or kiss women; women will kiss each other. Another difference between France and Britain is that people do not call each other by their first names very much.

Germany
Here the situation is more like Britain than France. Colleagues do not shake hands or kiss each other in the morning. But they do not use first names as much as the British when talking to bosses.


What is the situation in your country? How do you address colleagues? Do you shake hands or kiss every morning? Do you say "Hi, Paul" or "Good morning, Mr Cotton" ?


If you have any suggestions, comments or requests, please e-mail eltweb@cambridge.org


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