It’s no secret that it is essential to understand how to be polite and respectful when doing business internationally. But how different can politeness really be from one culture to another?

A number of unwritten principles of politeness exist which must be followed if you want to show respect and consideration to your business counterparts. Here in the UK we have been taught from a young age to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, to give up our seat for people who might need it or to apologise after bumping into someone.

Although we know what we need to do to be polite in the UK, many of us are unaware that doing the same thing in another culture may not be showing politeness. Failing to understand how to be polite when working across cultures can lead to communication breakdowns, damaged relationships and a loss of credibility. Cross cultural awareness training can equip us with the skills necessary to avoid these intercultural politeness pitfalls.

© istockphoto/nicole waring

One case of cultural variance in the understanding of politeness is the use of expressions of gratitude. In some cultures, people only expect to give or receive thanks for acts of altruism and not for tasks that are intrinsic to a person’s job, such as a bus driver or waiter. In other cultures such as the UK, however, people thank others for performing any tasks that benefit them. An example of this would be thanking the bus driver when leaving the bus.

Politeness is not always reflected through the use of please and thank you as in the example above. Using an indirect or direct style of communication can also influence the level of politeness you are showing your international counterparts. When doing business in Japan, for example, you’ll find your counterparts consider the use of direct questions to be challenging and therefore impolite. Conversely, doing business in Germany , you may find your German counterparts sometimes consider indirectness to be impolite, as the speaker’s intentions are unclear.

One theory of politeness states that in the process of communication people should consider the socio-cultural norms of people from other countries, develop tolerance and sensitivity towards these norms and work out strategies to make people feel comfortable in each other’s company.

An intercultural training course such as Working Effectively across Cultures stresses the difference in perceptions of politeness across cultures and provides specific strategies to help anyone doing business with other cultures overcome any misunderstandings that might arise.

“Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you – not because they are nice, but because you are” ~Author Unknown

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010