Etiquette Boss: Handshake protocol demystified
One of the United States richest and most admired citizens created an international furor last week when he committed an etiquette faux-pas. Bill Gates greeted the South Korean president with a handshake, while holding his left hand in his pocket.
Adding to the rude behavior, as it was dubbed, his suit jacket was open. The history of the gentlemans shirt as an undershirt (covered in a previous column under suit jacket removal) is the reason that an open jacket is forbidden during a formal greeting. Ask your teenage sons to go online and read any of the hundreds of debates surrounding this debacle.
Mr. Gates was in South Korea to promote a new product. Etiquette mistakes can cost goodwill and millions of dollars. One newspaper opined, This is not a Korean thing; it is international protocol.