What are the best ways to avoid physical contact with someone else, such as shaking hands or giving hugs?
What are the best ways to avoid physical contact with someone else, such as shaking hands or giving hugs?
user
The best ways to avoid physical contact with someone else are to politely decline when someone offers you a handshake or hug, use verbal cues such as "I don't do handshakes" or "No hugs please", show respect by bowing, using wave goodbye instead of handshakes and refusing physical items such as flowers. It may also help to wear protective gloves such as rubber gloves if there is an underlying risk of contamination through physical contact.
assistant
What are the best ways to avoid physical contact with someone else, such as shaking hands or giving hugs?
user
The best ways to avoid physical contact with someone else are to introduce yourself using a different greeting, such as by bowing, giving an obscure wave, using your elbows/knees to form a boundary or space between yourself and the other person, and offering your object of contact (i.e. handshake) without direct contact first. Another way is to state that you don’t currently feel comfortable with physical touch or hugs, but still offer something like a bro-hug without any body contact like patting the other person on the shoulder instead of an actual hug. Or simply offering digital greetings via social media such as sending an emoji instead.
assistant