Social Etiqette In America

The United States is such a socially and ethnically diverse country, so it is difficult to be precise about rules of social etiquette. It is possible to be general, however.

Most Americans are generally casual about their professional and social relationships. Therefore, it is not strange to call your colleague, your boss, or a new acquaintance by his or her first name. Americans have a democratic tradition that does not rely heavily on hierarchy, so titles are less important in America than they may be in other countries.

When greeting someone, it is not a must to shake hands unless you are being introduced to someone or in business situations. However, if someone offers you his or he hand, you should shake it. It is not customary to hug and kiss as a greeting.

Americans are very casual when it comes to the way they dress. Their priority is comfort, which is why they appear to be very informal. When it comes to business attire, there is a somewhat stricter dress code.
Women generally wear European-style business suits and men wear suit and tie. It is not uncommon, however, to see men in their shirtsleeves and without their jackets while they are having lunch, especially during the spring and summer months. In many companies, office workers have decided to dress down on Fridays and wear casual, comfortable clothes. It is not uncommon to see women wearing business suits and sneakers as the they are in the city. Working women in America can decide to wear fashionable business with their sneakers on their feet and their shoes in their bags.
This trend can be traced to New York at the begining of the 1980s during a strike, which forced many people to walk for miles to get to work.
During that transit strike many women took to the streets wearing their sneakers, while keeping their high heel shoes in their bags. Soon this trend became the norm for many women today.

In the United States people give a lot importance to time.
Americans are very respectful when it comes to schedules, be it entertainment or business. Most people try to stick to their schedules and make every attempt to be punctual. Therefore, if are invited to dinner or you've arranged to meet someone at a certain time, you are expected to keep to that time and arrive on time. Most Americans dislike it when people are not punctual. Time is an important factor in American life, that is why they tend to get angry when people are not punctual.

If you've been invited to go to someone's home for dinner, it is customary to bring a gift. The gift does not have to be expensive; it is merely a token of appreciation. You can decide to bring gifts like wine, flowers, or dessert.

When it comes to personal relations, men or women can invite each other to go out on a date. It is still somewhat customary for men to pay for meals when on a date, though it is not uncommon to split the bill in less formal situations. On certain occasions, women may offer to pay for the entire bill. If you've been invited on a date, you should offer to pay your share of the bill. You can accept you date's invitation to pay if he or she insists repeatedly for you to pay. But keep in mind that service is generally not included in most restaurants in the United States. But you are expected to pay a tip of fifteen to twenty percent of the total.