Test your international business etiquette

1. At a trade show in Beijing, you want to give your business card to a potential customer. Do you:

• take a card from your back pocket and write your mobile number on it?

• say that paper business cards are outdated and offer to send your details via smartphone instead?

• carefully present your Chinese business card from a silver case with both hands?

Answer explanation

Across Asia, the presentation of business cards is taken very seriously. Don’t ever write on a business card, or, even worse, shove it in your back pocket. Offering a card casually from a back pocket or with one hand is seen as insulting — it indicates that you don’t really care about the relationship. So offer it with respect, politeness and humility — and, for extra kudos, get it translated.

You’ve received an approach from a company in Oman and you fly out to Muscat to meet them. Your contact seems more interested in small talk — how many children do you have etc. Should you:

• answer his questions then move on to talk about business, you only have limited time in Muscat.

• answer, but don’t ask him anything — you don’t want to seem intrusive.

• respond in kind by asking him about his children, holidays, experience of Spain, favourite restaurants in Muscat, and so on, for the next 20 minutes or so.

Answer explanation

In the Middle East it’s very rude not to spend a decent amount of time exchanging pleasantries at the start of a meeting — hello, how are you, how is your family, and so on. You might consider these invasive questions but politeness demands that you answer them. No matter how much of a rush you are in to get to the point, you can never dispense with this initial greeting period.

You want to work with a consultancy in Germany, but you're unsure if you can afford them. After a meeting, they say they’re ‘thinking about it’. How can you persuade them?

• Write an email expressing your passion for their work and the opportunity it presents.

• Ask in an email when they expect to decide, mentioning other consultancies you can approach.

• Send a polite thank you for the meeting and wait.

Answer explanation

Germans don’t like pushy business techniques, and they don’t respond well to wild passionate appeals. They like to take their time when considering a request, so take a step back and let them think about it.

You’ve spent a year organising meetings for your buying trip to Chennai, India — but the manager you’re meeting seems distracted. He’s constantly answering the phone or chatting to employees who wander in while you’re trying to talk. How should you react?

• Stop talking and politely wait for your host to finish his conversation/call.

• Just carry on but wrap things up quickly as he clearly isn’t interested.

• Ask him not to respond to any distractions — what you’re saying is important.

Answer explanation

These kinds of interruptions are normal in India, as it’s seen as rude to ignore a phone call or a request. It’s not an indication that your host isn’t listening or is too busy.

You are going to Japan for a business meeting but have a cold. What should you do?

• Go anyway and don’t mention your illness.

• Go to the meeting and apologise for being ill.

• Cancel or rearrange the meeting.

Answer explanation

Turning up to a business meeting with a cold would be seen as insulting in Japan and could end your chances of winning a contract. Blowing your nose is also a no no. If you have a cold, cancel the meeting.

How should you address a Nigerian company director when you meet him for the first time?

• By his title and surname.

• By his first name.

• By his full name without the title.

Answer explanation

Titles are important in Nigeria, so make sure you check exactly what they are.

You’re meeting the representative of a big retail chain across Malaysia. He invites you for lunch at a Lebanese restaurant to talk about your products. Which hand do you use to eat your pitta bread?

• Your left hand.

• Your right hand.

• Either right or left hand is fine.

Answer explanation

It’s fine to use your right hand, but don’t ever use your left hand as it’s seen as the dirty hand. (It’s good to get used to this, as it’s the case in most Muslim countries.)

You’ve organised a meeting with a Russian partner at their headquarters in Moscow. You arrive on time, but after half an hour, you’re still waiting. Do you:

• just wait until your meeting participants show up — and don’t mention their lateness.

• wait and when they arrive, ask politely if they were stuck in traffic.

• tell the receptionist you’re going to get a coffee and wander around since your participants are late.

Answer explanation

It’s fine for Russians to be late — often, that lateness is a subtle test to see how patient you are. But it’s not OK for you to be late too, or for you to criticise their timekeeping.