With the normalization of global jet travel, the world may feel smaller for many business travelers. However, just because the world seems to be shrinking distance-wise, it is still not as homogenous as many Westerners think when it comes to cultural conventions. A vital business deal can fall apart over cultural misinterpretations or lack of understanding cultural nuances. Different renderings can lead to differing results ranging from successful to disastrous.

Karyl Leigh Barnes, executive vice president and managing partner, Development Counsellors International, recalls an incident in which one of her colleagues met with a client from Asia. Her workfellow was comfortably seated, legs crossed and feet pointing to the client — an act considered disrespectful in many Asian countries. Fortunately, her colleague quickly realized her gaucherie and corrected both posture and feet position. The client noticed and thanked her for respecting the culture. Barnes notes, “I find that you often don’t have to go out of your way and change your behavior to be successful when dealing with cultural difference, but rather it is the small gestures and attention to details that will help set you apart from business peers.”

International business travelers not only cross borders, but they cross many differing cultures in the process of pursuing global enterprise. Knowledge of the impact of these cultural differences can lead to more effective communications, as culture provides a lens into how people build trust, communicate, negotiate and make decisions.

For example, in America the ability to consistently deliver over time is considered a key component in building trust. We often talk about our “go-to” people as the ones we know will get things done on time. We predictively trust they will deliver as they always have. However, building relationships in other parts of the world can be more focused on the personal aspect before the professional can proceed. (This is true of many Arab, Asian and Latin American countries.) Barnes says, “… factoring in discussion about personal topics is important in Latin American cultures. That is heavily tied to the importance of family and relationships in that culture.”

Another important factor is recognizing the decision-making process: Is it collaborative as in America, paternalistic as in many Latin cultures or hierarchical as in many Asian and African cultures? “Americans have a way of looking at business problems in a collaborative way — thinking about teamwork and how to work together to solve problems,” says New York City-based Rose Genovese, regional vice president of sales and marketing, Langham Hospitality Group. “But other cultures often embrace a more hierarchical version of problem solving, from the top down. Neither way is right, but sometimes the two different ways of looking at things can cause people to butt heads.”

That is why Langham Hospitality attributes its success in large part to being able to relate to a wide variety of people of different cultures. “At Langham Hospitality we always say we pride ourselves on ‘knowing our guest,’ and that means being able to anticipate their needs and wants based, in part, on their cultural predilections and hiring staff who understand how important it is to be aware of cultural nuance.”

This attention to cultural nuances is exactly what the team at New York’s Waldorf Astoria and Towers of the Waldorf Astoria embraces. After management noticed a significant increase in Chinese bookings, they customized their response accordingly. Since sales manager Robert Armstrong travels to China frequently to connect with travel agents and business contacts, he is aware of important cultural details for Chinese guests. As a result, there is always at least one Chinese-speaking employee at the front desk and in each restaurant at all times. The numbers three, six and eight are considered lucky numbers in the Chinese culture, so the Waldorf team works hard to assign guestrooms with these numbers. The number four sounds like the word for “death,” so they will never assign a room with the number four in it to a Chinese guest. Since levels are important to Chinese culture, staff also pays special attention to the location of guestrooms, assigning higher floors to those with seniority and those booking more luxurious rooms.

Different cultures interpret a smile in different ways; a little research helps you better understand what facial expressions mean. © Wavebreakmedia Ltd | Dreamstime.com

The cultural prism of a country manifests in many ways, from whether a culture is time-sensitive, risk-taking and consensus-building to whether communications are direct and informal. Coincidentally, this defines America. But as we have seen earlier, what holds true in America may be totally different in other parts of the world.

National negotiating styles generally reflect a culture’s treatment of time. While Germans and Americans prize punctuality for meetings, it is only a guideline for many Latin American countries, where “fashionably late” rules the day. In Brazil, if you show up on time, no one will be there to greet you since meetings often start and finish late.

It is said Americans are quick to make a deal while Japanese negotiate methodically and slowly. The French prefer to debate and confront issues as part of their decision-making process, while the Swedish have a lengthy consensus-building process that ensures strong buy-in by team members. In American and Israeli cultures, where directness is considered an attribute, responses will be clear and definite. Indians, as well as many Asians, have difficulty saying “no,” and in the face of disagreement will exhibit vagueness and lack of commitment. This is a hallmark of cultures with indirect communications.

In many Arab and Asian countries where hierarchical decision-making is a defining feature, the leader ultimately makes the decision. Russia’s autocratic management style shares similar features. With an emphasis on the formal, Russian expectation is that a protocol be signed at the end of the meeting, basically a summary of the minutes of the meeting. This contrasts significantly with the casual approach of Americans.

However, staying attuned to cultural differences is not the complete story when trying to communicate across countries. Even silently, our cultural conditioning can confuse understanding. We communicate as much through body language and facial expressions as we do through open dialogue.

In America, we are strongly grounded in believing smiles can bridge just about anything, including cultural differences. But what we perceive as a friendly facial expression can be interpreted quite differently in other parts of the world. For example, Russians are known to exhibit the most control over facial expressions, favoring a more stoic demeanor as opposed to Americans, who display the least control. This may explain why many people in the former Soviet Union are circumspect of smiling strangers in public places. In contrast, many Latino and Arabic cultures are animated in their expressions, particularly when expressing grief and sorrow. Many Americans see this “emotional exaggeration” as reflecting a lack of self-control.

Even the amount of eye contact can have different meanings across cultures. You may think you are sending a clear message, and yet it can be received quite differently due to cultural quirks. In the United States and most of Europe, direct eye contact is considered appropriate and even desirable in establishing an individual as a powerful business professional. Furthermore, it is a sign of listening and understanding, indicating honesty and straightforwardness. The Arab culture takes this a step further: Prolonged eye contact is believed to show interest. Too little is not only considered disrespectful, it also signals the person is untrustworthy. In contrast, many Asian, African and Latin American cultures perceive direct eye contact as disrespectful, aggressive and rude. Their dictum is to avoid eye contact with a superior. To do so bestows honor and respect.

It is as important to understand our own cultural lens as it is to understand that of others. Our directness and respect for achievement, rather than position or age, is a reflection of an egalitarian society, where enthusiasm is endemic in the business environment and “new” is always good. We are seen as a people who value time and punctuality at the expense of developing personal relationships, though our casual friendliness can be confusing. “Getting down to business quickly is an American custom. In general, we work and then we play … and sometimes, we never make it to play because the work is all-consuming,” says Development Counsellors’ Barnes.

Carol Stigger, former communications director, Opportunity International, says, “Dealing with people of different cultures is an ongoing lesson in the basic kindness of humanity. I have been forgiven for eating with the wrong hand in India, for wearing jeans in Haiti (where only prostitutes wear pants), for not taking my shoes off at the door in Russia and Romania, and for not knowing that C.R. is comfort room, meaning toilet, in Manila. I have learned to observe before I act to keep cultural gaffs at a minimum.”

Remember, not every difficulty can be attributed to cultural differences, as sometimes technology or even political protocol can be the problem. It might even be your personality. Therefore, it is vitally important to listen, stay open-minded, be nonjudgmental and bridge differences with patience and cultural understanding.