So, how much cultural competence do you think there is incheek kissing
cheek kissing? Well, we recently started a conversation on SIETAR Europa’s Linked In group and the plethora of responses confirmed that there are various ways to greet with a kiss. But what may have come as a surprise to some of us was that the ways of kissing don’t only vary from one country to another, but from region to region, from day to night, from male to female, and from one person to the next. What I can conclude from the conversation is that my initially abstract title-phrase, the ‘art’ of cheek kissing, became to perfectly describe this social gesture: a gesture that has no rule-of-thumb, a gesture that is cultural as well as personal.

So, it seems that although cheek kissing is a common greeting across the globe, one has to be truly culturally competent to smoothly master the art of cheek kissing! Read about the differnces and learn that London is a one-kiss city.