Prior to this assignment, I never recognized the existence of greeting rituals. Although an integral part of daily life, the greeting is an aspect of communication that seems to occur effortlessly in our society. However, after some self-evaluation and through the observation of others I have come to realize that "the greeting  is a complex activity. Even though our rituals are considered informal in comparison to other societies they still require technique. Each encounter involves evaluation, thought, speech, and body language which are determined by social distance and the relationship between both parties. It is an intricate dance through which the people involved must navigate the steps whether their partner is familiar or a complete stranger. Most encounters with strangers are awkward. When approaching a stranger a reasoned, carefully weighed decision is made about what to do: ignore or acknowledge the other person. Whether on a college campus or on the streets of a small town I found that the majority of people tend to avoid eye contact and look at the ground when encountering a stranger. A few, more outgoing people are likely to smile or nod their head at the other person and move on. The lack of attention is not meant to be rude; however, it is more of an attempt to be polite through conscious inattention. By not taking notice of the other person you are avoiding any awkwardness that might ensue, sparing both parties any uncomfortable feelings. The dance is over before it starts. When people are acquaintances the greeting becomes more complicated. One must decide how well you know the other person and how prolonged you want the encounter to be. My observations revealed that most people say "Hi  or "Hello  and wave when they greet an acquaintance. Occasionally a handshake is exchanged. I also noticed that a lot of people paired the phrase, "How are you," with hello. I specifically refer to the question as a phrase bec