Art. 6 The Silent Language in Overseas Business

1. Art. 6 The Silent Language in Overseas Business By: Grace Xia Postdoctoral of Fudan University Associate Prof. of Shandong University E-mail: grace.xia@sdu.edu.cn

2. Part I Language of Time Different language of time for different people. Case: I) in U.S.A. II) in Ethiopia III) in the Arab East a. more important people get fast service b. To give person a deadline is different meaning in U.S.A. or Middle East. c. Arabs themselves at times are impossible to communicate to each other. d. time schedule

3. IV) in Latin America V) in Japan VI) in India Principal: Time has different meaning in different country. Part II Language of Space Language of space is different wherever one goes. Case: I) in U.S.A. II) in France III) in Arab World

4. IV) in Spanish cultures V) in Japan VI) in Scandinavia and Germany VII) in England VIII) conversation distance in U.S.A. IX) business transaction progress in stages in U.S.A. X) in India

5. Part III Language of Things I. Americans II. French, English and Germans III. Japanese IV. Middle East businessmen V. In some other countries, money and material possessions stand for something different than they do in America.

6. Part IV Language of Friendship I. in U.S.A. II. In foreign countries a. in Middle East and Latin America b. in India Part V Language of Agreements I. It’s important to know the rules for negotiating agreements in various countries.

7. II. Working base for agreements III. Different culture, different rules a. Americans b. Greeks c. Arab world IV. Informal pattern and unstated agreements often lead to untold difficulty in the cross-cultural situation. V. One of the greatest difficulties American have met abroad VI. Most important generalization drawn by American businessmen.