Etiquette expert William Hanson reveals how to greet someone on the street if you’re wearing sunglasses and earphones (and whether it’s bad manners to wear sunglasses indoors)
- William’s advice first appeared in an Instagram post that has been viewed more than 14,000 times
- Here he also reveals whether it is bad form to slide sunglasses on the head
- READ MORE: You ate spaghetti all wrong!
In an insightful Instagram post, etiquette expert William Hanson revealed whether it’s rude to greet someone on the street while wearing sunglasses and listening to music.
The short answer is yes.
That’s what he says in the clip, which has been watched more than 14,000 times: “If you meet someone on the street and you’re wearing sunglasses and earplugs, take them off before having a conversation.”
MailOnline Travel asked William if exceptions to the ‘shades off’ rule could be made in very bright sunlight.
He said, “There will always be exceptions, but it’s better to take them off while greeting the other person and put them back on soon after, than to keep them on.”
In an insightful Instagram post, etiquette expert William Hanson revealed whether it’s rude to greet someone on the street while wearing sunglasses and listening to music. He says the shades should be removed and the music stopped
William finds it ‘inconvenient’ to wear sunglasses indoors
What if it’s blinding light and you really need to keep them on?
He said, ‘Be honest! Question: “Would you mind if I put my sunglasses back on?” Nobody will say no.’
And is it OK to slide the sunglasses onto the top of the head instead of taking them off completely?
William continued, “In very mundane situations, but ideally you would remove them from your face altogether.”
Should the greeting music be turned off? Or does it not matter?
William said: ‘It depends on your ability to multitask, but most modern headphones automatically pause the music when the headphones are removed. A rare example of where technology can help good manners!’
We also asked William if it wasn’t good manners to wear sunglasses indoors.
He was unequivocal and said, ‘It’s very bad to wear your sunglasses indoors. It’s not fancy. It’s rude.
‘Eye contact is essential for building rapport and trust with our fellow human beings and sunglasses prevent that.’
For more from William, visit his Instagram profile here. He’s here to tweet – twitter.com/williamhanson.