Jul 28, 2026 · 13 min · 8 segments
Today's episode is a collection of practical Business English takeaways from my recent coaching sessions. We'll cover professional etiquette, natural recommendations, pronunciation and answer two…
Let's have a look at the first topic on the list, and here we're actually going to talk about professional etiquette, which is not something that I've really touched on in the podcast, but I thought was a really, really interesting point that came up in a client session, and I thought actually covering this might help you feel more confident when you have these types of social face-to-face interactions.
They have to work with people in the UK, and they went to a meeting with some people that they already work with, right? They'd had online meetings, and then they w- went to meet them face to face and they said, "You know, when I went there, we hugged.
It wasn't awkward or anything like that." But the question was, "Okay, when I work with British people in the future, and these are people that I work with and I know, should I initiate a hug? Should I go in with the handshake? What's the appropriate professional etiquette in British working culture?" What I advised this person to do, and the conclusion that we came to, was lead with the handshake, and if the other person initiates the hug, great.
Rather than leading with the hug and then having that awkward moment where they perhaps feel uncomfortable and you're like, "Oh my goodness, I've invaded their space.
What do I do now?" And then that could kind of be a little bit of an uncomfortable moment between the two of you.
Lead with the handshake, and if they sort of say, "Oh, no," and they initiate the hug and you feel comfortable, of course, then you can go with that.
There's lots of different types of personalities and cultures, but I hope that perhaps that reflection helps you feel a little bit more comfortable if you have to take on a face-to-face or in-person interaction with a UK colleague.
Let's have a look at the first topic on the list, and here we're actually going to talk about professional etiquette, which is not something that I've really touched on in the podcast, but I thought was a really, really interesting point that came up in a client session, and I thought actually covering this might help you feel more confident when you have these types of social face-to-face interactions.
They have to work with people in the UK, and they went to a meeting with some people that they already work with, right? They'd had online meetings, and then they w- went to meet them face to face and they said, "You know, when I went there, we hugged.
It wasn't awkward or anything like that." But the question was, "Okay, when I work with British people in the future, and these are people that I work with and I know, should I initiate a hug? Should I go in with the handshake? What's the appropriate professional etiquette in British working culture?" What I advised this person to do, and the conclusion that we came to, was lead with the handshake, and if the other person initiates the hug, great.
Rather than leading with the hug and then having that awkward moment where they perhaps feel uncomfortable and you're like, "Oh my goodness, I've invaded their space.
What do I do now?" And then that could kind of be a little bit of an uncomfortable moment between the two of you.
Lead with the handshake, and if they sort of say, "Oh, no," and they initiate the hug and you feel comfortable, of course, then you can go with that.
There's lots of different types of personalities and cultures, but I hope that perhaps that reflection helps you feel a little bit more comfortable if you have to take on a face-to-face or in-person interaction with a UK colleague.
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3 of 4
Handshake Or Hug?
Navigating greetings with British colleagues made simple
Should vs. Ought
Subtle difference between should and ought explained
Saying "Keith" Correctly
How to say Keith without embarrassing yourself
+1 more clip · 3 min 9 sec of audio in all
7 of 19
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