PORTLAND, Ore. — The spread of COVID- 19 is changing the way many people greet each other.
In Germany recently, Chancellor Angela Merkel did not get a handshake from one of her cautious ministers after reaching out her hand to him. In the NBA, the league is asking players not to high-five fans or sign autographs for the time being. And even on the streets of Portland, people are getting creative to avoid hand-in-hand contact. Some have turned to tapping toes, bumping elbows and fists, bowing and nodding in lieu of shaking hands.
To some, cautiously avoiding handshakes comes at the cost of expressing manners and respect. Many feel those things are lost when people avoid shaking hands.
“I'm going to shake because that's the kind of business we're in,” said John Helmer III, owner of John Helmer Haberdasher on SW Broadway. Helmer's father and grandfather built the century-old business on thousands of handshakes and what they represent.
“We're in a real people business so it's just natural to come in and shake the person's hand,” said Helmer. “With our new reality, it makes it a little more difficult.”
So why do we shake hands? We asked Dr. Lauren Frank, Associate Professor of Communication at Portland State University.
“It tends to be a social norm; we grow up observing what other people do, learning the way we should acceptably behave,” said Dr. Frank. “That automatically becomes—we put our hand out to say 'hello' and greet somebody when we're first meeting them.”
Dr. Frank believes changing social norms is hard, especially when it means potentially offending someone. To get out of handshakes gracefully, she suggested being honest and straight forward.
“[Wave] and go with strong verbals and say ‘Hi, how are you,’ or something like that and, ‘I'm not shaking hands right now,’ and put your hand down.”
If none of that suits you, like a firm grip, you and John Helmer can shake on it... then wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
“That'll be my solution because I don't really want to give up shaking hands,” said Helmer. “It's the way we greet people.”