Let's seeeeee. Hmmmm. What do you think? I have a pretty strong presence without needing a touch to make a point or say, "Hi." I prefer to have contact but I don't make anyone do anything or force them into hugging me or allowing me to touch them on the shoulder or arm. If the are strangers, I always offer my hand as an example of friendship. My right hand. Apparently, this form of meeting started so the person being greeted could see you were not armed and meant no harm to them. Some people these days are so paranoid about everything, they don't even want to do this jester. I respect and try to read the person before I offer any body contact. My goal is make sure everyone is comfortable and happy to converse in my presence. If I had my druthers, we all wouldn't be afraid of each other and would/could do anything they felt comfortable with and everyone would respect that.
I am a touchy feely person on the natch. Yes. I do touch people and hug them when I talk or see them again. I don't hug on the first meeting. I shake. Still, I do think body contact is a good thing.
This post was edited by Merlin at December 4, 2019 3:44 AM MST
I tend to be relatively reserved in that regard, especially when I assume it might make a woman uncomfortable, but a pat on the shoulder or a hearty handshake even in the middle of conversation can have a positive effect. (I suppose that latter example might sound odd, but it's very common in former Yugoslavia when emphatically agreeing with someone.)
Aside from pecks on the cheek from people I don't really know, I usually don't mind being touched--in fact, I then often find it easier to connect to that person. Incidentally, when a TV guy came over the other week to install a satellite dish, the first thing he did after getting out of his van was to give me this sort of side-hug. But that's the kind of thing I expect to come across in Serbia now and then; certainly not when I was still living in Belgium!
SaltyPebble 