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Een tweetal weken geleden werden we voor het eerst na 2 maanden verdiende ‘rust’ nog maar eens wakker geschud.
De schuldige: een les generationele marketingcommunicatie.
De boodschap: ons bewust maken dat er zoveel verschillen zijn tussen het Oosten en het Westen.

Achteraf besloot ik om ze toch maar eens effe op een rijtje te zetten, de cultuurverschillen. Hieronder zijn een aantal essentiële voorbeelden van cultuurverschillen te vinden: (engels)

If you’ve ever travelled to Latin lands, from South America to the Mediterranean, you know that the people are comfortable with getting up close and personal. Big hugs and planting kisses on your friends’ and family’s cheeks are the norm.

In France: If you make friends with a French person, expect her to kiss
your cheeks three times when you say hello and goodbye.

In Brazil: Upon greeting and departure, the custom is to shake hands
with everyone present in a group. Once a friendship has been established, expect to be embraced. Brazilian women exchange kisses on alternating cheeks: Twice if they’re married, three times if they’re single. The third kiss is to ensure ‘good luck’ in finding a spouse.

In the Middle East and Gulf States: Touching upon greeting in the Middle Eastern and the Gulf States is common. Wait for your counterpart to initiate the exchange because several styles of greeting are used. In Saudi Arabia be prepared to go through an elaborate greeting ritual with another person. Although a Westernised Saudi man shakes hands with another man, the customary Saudi greeting between men is a more complicated affair. After saying the traditional ‘salaam alaykum’ you shake hands and say ‘kaif halak’. Then you and your Saudi counterpart put your left hands on the other’s right shoulders and kiss one another on each cheek. Finally, your new-found friend takes your hand in his. Unless, of course, you’re a woman, in which case no bodily contact is involved at all. (So if you’re a woman, don’t be offended if a Saudi man
doesn’t shake your hand.)

Personal distance between speakers is close in the Middle East, so backing away can be interpreted as an insult. Be prepared for more touching and physical contact in conversations. In fact, for Arab men holding hands is quite common – the gesture is a sign of friendship and respect. Traditionally, a veiled Saudi woman in the company of a Saudi man isn’t introduced.

Acknowledging the no-touching rule
Although in many Far Eastern countries, people greet one another by shaking hands, the Japanese have an aversion to informal bodily contact. Japanese doing business in the West force themselves to shake hands although they may feel uncomfortable doing so. In their own country, the usual form of greeting is a long, low bow from the waist and a formal exchange of business cards. Though young people are defying the norms of their parents, be aware that the Japanese traditionally disapprove of male-female touching in public. If you feel awkward bowing to a Japanese colleague or customer, seeing it as a sign of subservience, do it anyway. That is, if you want to make a favourable impression. What you are saying by this gesture is that you value that person’s experience and wisdom. Never put your hand or hands in your pockets when you’re bowing, shaking hands, or giving a speech because doing so is considered to be extremely rude in Japan.

Cities in Japan are crowded places. You may need to push through the throngs, as the Japanese do. This is done by holding your hand in front of your face, with bent elbow, rather like a child pretending to be a shark, or like a Karate chop, while bowing and saying ‘excuse me’.
When presenting your business card to a Japanese person hold it with both your hands and present it with your details facing toward the other person.

In Japan you can tell a person’s status in relation to another’s by how long and low she bows. Someone holding a lower status bows lower and longer. If equals are bowing to one another they match one another’s bows. If one of the people wants to show more respect she adds an extra bow. The Japanese also add another bow for someone who is much older, as well as for a customer whose business they are hoping to get.

Positioning and setting the boundaries
In some countries the common and expected behaviour is for people to stand close to each other, whereas in others a wide berth between people is the norm. For example, in Argentina people stand close to one another. If you back away they may think that you’re shy and move closer to fill the gap. Australians, however, require a lot of space between themselves – if you get closer than an arm’s length away an Aussie feels hemmed in.

Visit the Nordic countries and you may notice similarities in the way people move in relation to one another. What the well-trained eye notices is that they’re all quite restrained in the way they use their bodies. As opposed to their southern cousins, who embrace public physicality, they shy away from effusive gestures, and consider hugging to be taboo.

If you want to avoid embarrassing your Nordic friend or acquaintance, particularly in public, refrain from behaving in an intimate manner. Save your hugs for home.

Laughter

When a person laughs in the Western world, you’re safe in assuming that they’re happy. If you hear the same laughter – with a slightly different accent – in Japan, don’t think that everything’s fine. Japanese laugh as a means of controlling their displeasure. Laughter also conceals embarrassment, confusion, and shock, and isn’t only a gesture used for mirth. Cultures have personalities, like people. Some are open, outgoing, and extrovert. Others are less expressive, and their gestures are fewer, closer to the body and generally more restrained. Sit in a restaurant in Rome and watch the people laughing, interrupting one another, and touching a lot. Take yourself to Stockholm and experience the difference. People are quiet, more contained in their gestures, and demonstrate less emotion. Both groups are equally friendly and caring; they express their feelings and good will quite differently.

A young Japanese woman reveals her embarrassment by giggling behind her hands, which are held in an upright position, slightly away from her mouth, with the palm facing her face.

Different cultures have different ways of dealing with difficult or embarrassing situations. Brazilians, for example, avoid giving bad news and saying no. They may change the subject, stretch the truth, or put such a positive spin on the information that you don’t notice the negative aspects. They aren’t seeking to deceive, and they aren’t avoiding loss of face. They simply want to keep things positive and not to disappoint.

Eye-contact

When conversing with someone from the Far East, avoid making eye contact, except for an occasional glance to make sure that they’re still there. Then, quickly avert your eyes again.

Always watch for how a person gestures. The manner in which the action is performed adds to the meaning of the gesture. Maria, for example, was working in Japan with a Japanese colleague, preparing a client presentation. She asked him if he was pleased with the work they had done together. He told her that, yes, he was. A couple of days later Maria heard through the grapevine that her colleague wasn’t happy with the result and wanted to rework the presentation. When she asked him why he’d told her that it was all right when it wasn’t, he replied: ‘But I told you with sad eyes, Maria.’

In Nordic countries, Germany, and Great Britain, eye contact is important for demonstrating sincerity and trust. If you’re ever invited to a Scandinavian’s home for dinner, be prepared for some serious eye contact. After dinner, and often during the meal, your host raises her glass, looks you, and everyone else at the table directly in the eye, and says ‘skoal’. Although the toast has its variations throughout the Nordic lands, the main point to remember is that direct and prolonged eye contact throughout the ritual is required.

Time

If you’ve ever been kept waiting, whether for an appointment, a date, or even a response to an e-mail, you know how annoying it is. Keeping to schedule and being punctual is more than a demonstration of good manners; it’s a reflection of your core values. It demonstrates how you feel about and treat other people.
In some cultures, such as India and Saudi Arabia, being kept waiting would not be an issue. It is even expected. But in Western culture we’re obsessed with time.
If you’re habitually late, consider the impact of your behaviour. Don’t be surprised if people consider you to be a bit of a flake, if not rude and selfish. Although you may think that arriving at a dinner party ‘fashionably late’ is appealing, the host whose soufflé depends on precise timing won’t be thrilled.

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Indien je er een andere mening op nahoudt dan de mijne mag je gerust reageren en jouw mening delen. Integendeel, ik heb niet liever. Eventuele suggesties zijn ook altijd welkom! Keep on reading!