Valuing TimeĬultural differences also become apparent in differing concepts of time. Failing to acknowledge their status within the company or to greet them with due respect can leave a bad impression. The most senior business partner may be the one who is making the decisions at a meeting. Hierarchies may have a great influence on the communication style in your new surroundings, so it is important to keep an eye on this. Always use last names and titles unless you are invited to do otherwise. when addressing and greeting your business partners, your boss and your colleagues. Try to adjust to the way your business partners communicate, e.g. In others, people are typically soft-spoken, use flowery or indirect language and wait patiently for others to finish their sentence.ĭuring a business meeting, these differences are likely to come to the fore. In some cultures, people are loud, direct or even blunt and tend to interrupt others during a conversation. If you have traveled a lot before, you know that there are huge differences in communication between people from one country to another. You may also be interested in our articles on international etiquette and international business culture, or in our cross-cultural communication section. In this article, we will focus on cultural differences in communication and in valuing time before briefly touching on some general guidelines.

Cultural contexts