商務(wù)談判英語(yǔ):Example of Communication Rules for International Negotiators

Never touch a Malay on the top of the head, for that is where the soul resides. Never show the sole of your shoe to an Arab, for it is dirty and represents the bottom of the body, and never use your left hand in Muslim culture, for it is reserved for physical hygiene. Touch the side of your nose in Italy and it is a sign of distrust. Always look directly and intently into your French associate’s eye when making an important point. Direct eye contact in Southeast Asia, however, should be avoided until the relationship is firmly established. If your Japanese associate has just sucked air in deeply through his teeth, that’s a sign you’ve got real problems. Your Mexican associate will want to embrace you at the end of a long and successful negotiation; so, will your central and eastern European associates, who may give you a bear hug and kiss you three times on alternating cheeks. Americans often stand farther apart than their Latin and Arab associates but closer than their Asian associates. In the United States, people shake hands forcefully and enduringly; in Europe, a handshake is usually quick and to the point; in Asia, it is often rather limp. Laughter and giggling in the West Indies indicates humor; in Asia, it more often indicates embarrassment and humility. Additionally, the public expression of deep emotion is considered ill-mannered in most countries of the Pacific Rim; there is an extreme separation between one’s personal and public selves. Withholding emotion in Latin America, however, is often cause for mistrust.