Greeting Norms

Namaskaram (నమస్కారం) or Namaste is the most common verbal greetings in Telugu. These are usually followed by “How are you?” – మీరు ఏలా ఉన్నారు? (meeru aelaa unnaaru).

Greetings can be formal or informal, depending on who the person is greeting. This is determined based on age, social status, social rank, etc. Family and friends generally address each other informally, using the pronoun “you”, however, when formally addressing someone, honorific suffixes, such as andi, and ayya garu (sir) are added. When greeting, shaking, or folding the hands is usually the norm. 

Nonetheless, a slight head bow or touching one’s heart is not uncommon. Usually women will only shake hands with other women, not men.

Communication Styles

Indians are usually polite and indirect communicators. To avoid conflict or confrontation, they will make use of an ambiguous communication style. Among friends and family communication tends to be more direct. Direct refusals may be seen as slightly rude and can cause some discomfort, so “I’ll try” might be a polite way of saying “no”. Additionally, Telugu people are regarded as humble, and do not like to boast about their achievements.

Personal Space and Touching

In India, personal space is valued, and people will usually keep a distance of at least an arm’s length during a conversation. Public displays of affection may be considered improper, particularly between people of the same gender. The left hand is considered unclean, especially in regions where the hand is used to eat with, which is the case of Telugu speaking areas, and for that reason, only the right hand should be used to touch someone. The feet are also considered unclean and should not be pointed at other people, let alone be used to touch them. Additionally, the head is considered sacred and touching other people’s heads should be avoided.

Eye Contact and Gestures

Eye contact is usually kept to a minimum, especially between those of opposite genders. However, direct eye contact may be appropriate if the direct gaze is averted from time to time.

Pointing using one finger is considered disrespectful, Indians use their chin, eyes, or the whole hand to point instead.  Whistling or winking are considered vulgar gestures since both have a sexual connotation and are associated with flirting. Additionally, standing with hands placed on the hips is considered an aggressive gesture.