Does it bother you when people engage you in conversations or chats without first greeting?
A greeting is a polite word and an expression of goodwill that can be said to a person.
Good Morning
When you meet, speak, chat or send a message to a person for the first time in the morning or early hours of the day, the polite way to start a conversation should be with; Good morning.
Aside from saying it as a form of greeting, you are also wishing a person well and this helps to improve communication.
Likewise, when you meet or chat with a person in the afternoon or evening, you start with a good afternoon or good evening as the first step to having a conversation.
Always Respond
In Nigeria, a greeting is seen as a demonstration of honour and respect. In this structure, younger people are expected to greet older people first. In this context, when a younger person greets, the appropriate response from the older person is also to greet.
The act of greeting is reciprocal and it is improper to respond to a greeting with a sign, wave, nod, sound or gesture.
In my opinion, regardless of age or relationship status, everyone should greet. From friends to spouses, siblings, children, colleagues, workers and acquaintances. Greetings should be normalized and infused in our contacts and dealings with people.
Social Media Threat to Greetings
Whilst the positive benefits of using social media platforms in our daily lives are numerous, I have realized that social media in a way, has affected the approach of many to conversations.
Nowadays, many people are guilty of engaging in chats and conversations without greeting first and this is becoming a trend across social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook which are used frequently as messaging applications. This practice is wrong and should be corrected.
A greeting is a basic function of communication and it triggers positive communications. It also helps us connect to people at a personal level.
Also, there is nothing wrong with greeting a person or stranger you do not intend to have a conversation with.
GOOD MORNING!
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GREAT ONE FROM YOU MY BROTHER, GOOD EVENING, HOW YOUR DAY.
I don’t mind at what point of the conversations that the greetings comes because it’s a mark of mutual respect to both in an informal level but for a formal conversations greetings comes first.