New rules for our new normal
While lockdown may have lifted in your area, the risk of COVID-19 remains as cases surge throughout the country. At the same time, many of us are weary of months of social distancing and eager to socialize with loved ones and friends, but the changing nature of the disease makes it difficult to determine how best to proceed. “We’re being bombarded with new information daily, sometimes hourly, about what to do,” says Sharon Schweitzer, an international culture and etiquette expert based in Austin, Texas. “The scientific community is giving us information that a lot of times conflicts with what our community leaders and our political leaders are telling us to do.”
So, how can you maintain etiquette, which is all about making the other person feel comfortable, during these unprecedented times? “Good etiquette really is how you make other people feel,” says Lisa Mirza Grotts, a San Francisco–based etiquette expert known as the Golden Rules Gal. “Right now, all that’s taken a back seat to health and safety and how we make people comfortable given our health situation.” Here are some guidelines to help you navigate socializing during this time.