Particularities of communication with partners from America

USA

America is ultimately a nation of immigrants and as a result is a cultural mish-mash in every sense of the word. Not only is the country populated by people from foreign countries but all Americans in one way or another trace their ancestry back to another culture, whether Irish, German, Italian or Scottish. Looking around any major city one will notice the ‘melting-pot’ that it is.

Most people who come to the United States may already know a few things about the people through TV. Although this is of course a skewed reality some of the stereotypes are true, especially American friendliness and informality. People tend to not wait to be introduced, will begin to speak with strangers as they stand in a queue, sit next to each other at an event, etc. Visitors can often be surprised when people are so informal to the point of being very direct or even rude.

The country that coined the phrase obviously lives the phrase. In America, time is a very important commodity. People 'save' time and 'spend' time as if it were money in the bank. Americans ascribe personality characteristics and values based on how people use time. For example, people who are on-time are considered to be good people, reliable people who others can count on.

The family unit is generally considered the nuclear family, and is typically small (with exceptions among certain ethnic groups). Extended family relatives live in their own homes, often at great distances from their children.

Individualism is prized, and this is reflected in the family unit. People are proud of their individual accomplishments, initiative and success, and may, or may not, share those sources of pride with their elders.

Business Dress

• What is considered appropriate business attire varies by geographic region, day of the week and industry.
• In general, people in the East dress more formally, while people in the West are known for being a bit more casual.
• Executives usually dress formally regardless of which part of the country they are in.
• Casual Friday is common in many companies. High technology companies often wear casual clothes every day.
• For an initial meeting, dressing conservatively is always in good taste. Women can wear business suits, dresses or pantsuits. Men should wear a business suit unless you know the firm to be quite casual.

Greetings

• The hand shake is the common greeting.
• Handshakes are firm, brief and confident.
• Maintain eye contact during the greeting.
• In most situations, you can begin calling people by their first names.
• Most people will insist that you call them by their nickname, if they have one.
• In formal circumstances, you may want to use titles and surnames as a courtesy until you are invited to move to a first name basis, which will happen quickly.
• Business cards are exchanged without formal ritual.
• It is quite common for the recipient to put your card in their wallet, which may then go in the back pocket of their trousers. This is not an insult.

Communication Styles

Americans are direct. They value logic and linear thinking and expect people to speak clearly and in a straightforward manner. To them if you don’t “tell it how it is” you simply waste time, and time is money. If you are from a culture that is more subtle in communication style, try not to be insulted by the directness. Try to get to your point more quickly and don’t be afraid to be more direct and honest than you are used to. Americans will use the telephone to conduct business that would require a face-to-face meeting in most other countries. They do not insist upon seeing or getting to know the people with whom they do business.

Business Meetings

Arrive on time for meetings since time and punctuality are so important to Americans. In the Northeast and Midwest, people are extremely punctual and view it as a sign of disrespect for someone to be late for a meeting or appointment. In the Southern and Western states, people may be a little more relaxed, but to be safe, always arrive on time, although you may have to wait a little before your meeting begins.

Meetings may appear relaxed, but they are taken quite seriously. If there is an agenda, it will be followed. At the conclusion of the meeting, there will be a summary of what was decided, a list of who will implement which facets and a list of the next steps to be taken and by whom. If you make a presentation, it should be direct and to the point. Visual aids should further enhance your case. Use statistics to back up your claims, since Americans are impressed by hard data and evidence.

With the emphasis on controlling time, business is conducted rapidly. Expect very little small talk before getting down to business. It is common to attempt to reach an oral agreement at the first meeting. The emphasis is on getting a contract signed rather than building a relationship. The relationship may develop once the first contract has been signed.

Americans and Canadians may share the same continent, but they have differences (as well as similarities) in behavior and etiquette. Here we take a look at the how to deal business in Canada.

Canada is a diverse country with an open-immigration policy that invites people from all over the world. Canadians are generally very polite, tolerant and community-oriented people, who value individual responsibility.

They value individualism - Just like any English-speaking citizen, including American, Canadians value individualism highly. For them, success is measured by personal achievement.

They are open about everything except themselves - Canadians are open to discussions about anything. However, they tend to hold their personal privacy off limits to all except for relatives and close friends.

Ethnocentrism is high - A lot of Canadians think highly of their own culture, and every other culture-including that of Americans-are judged according to their perspective. This belief of considering their owns culture as superior to other cultures reflects best in the French province of Quebec.