Etiquette is a shapeshifter. Although it will always be a set of rules that we use to help us navigate different social and professional situations, the parameters evolve to reflect the world around us: the rules we grew up with may not be relevant or useful today.

Detractors of etiquette often dismiss it as something from a bygone age. However, they’re missing the point: etiquette tells us how to behave now. The core principles of good manners — treat others with respect and compassion — will always remain the same, but the playbook gets revised.

Pick up any book of etiquette from the past 200 years and it will almost invariably open with advice on greeting our fellow humans. To my mind, one of the most significant changes in how we interact with each other has been the near extinction

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