Because eating and conversing with friends is a social occasion, the waiter will not give you the bill until you ask. Raise your hand with the index finger extended or raise your right hand and pretend your thumb or forefinger are a pen, and sign the air to indicate a desire for the check. You may hear locals make kissing noises, but this is rude.

Mexico – Wave or raise your hand, but don’t motion with your index finger (this is an obscene gesture). Or, motion to the waiter by pretending to write in the air.

Japan – Extend your arm slightly upwards, palm facing down and flutter your fingers.

Malaysia / Singapore – Use the beckoning gesture with your entire right hand moving towards your body.

Philippines - Move your thumb and index finger in the shape of a rectangle.

Thailand – Say “Khun Khap” (for waiter) or “Khun Ka” (for waitress).

Clap your hands once or twice and make eye contact. Waving your hand or fingers is extremely rude.

Pakistan – Raise your right hand.

Baltic Countries – Make eye contact and raise your right hand.

France – Despite what Hollywood portrays, do not snap your fingers and say “Garçon!”. The waiter will wait for you to request the bill. Flag the waiter by saying, “Si’l vous plait, Monsieur?” or make a writing gesture in the air.

Germany - Raise your hand and say, “Herr Ober” (for a waiter) or “Fräulein” (for a waitress).

Netherlands – Make eye contact and raise your right hand. You may say, “Ober” or “Meneer” (for a waiter) or “Mevrouw” (for a waitress). Finger snapping is extremely rude.

Slovakia – Snapping your fingers is rude, but it can also be the only way to get the waiter’s attention in a country still struggling with the concept of customer service.

Spain - Signal in the air the signing of a receipt.

Sweden - Make eye contact or say “excuse me Sir / Madam”.

Switzerland - In German cantons, say “Herr Ober” or “Fräulein”. It’s rude to wave your hand.

United Kingdom – Make eye contact, signal / raise your hand, and then say “Excuse me, sir”.

North and West Africa – Subtly raise your right hand and make eye contact. Waving your hand is rude. Locals may make a loud, directed “PSSSST!” sound, but it’s best not to emulate this.

Cameroon & Nigeria – The local custom is to hiss. You may also say loudly, “Excuse me”. Do not call the waiter “Garçon”.

Ghana – Say loudly, “Sir”, “Madam” or “Excuse me”.

Kenya – Say “Excuse me”, “Bwana” or beckon with the palm facing downward.

Mali – Say “Chef” (which literally means chief) or “Teri kay” (friend).

Senegal – Say “Garçon”.

South Africa – Raise your hand or make eye contact.

Tanzania – Say “Rafiki” (friend) or say “Psst” with the palm of your right hand facing upwards.

Carrie
RW3 CultureWizard

Indirect communication is common in Asia, the Middle East, Latin / South America and many Mediterranean and African countries. Direct communication is the norm in Western Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other parts typically considered “The West”.

People from direct communication cultures strive to quickly relate information with great clarity when conversing, so as to not waste the listener’s time – a precious commodity valued by many direct communication cultures. Individuals from indirect communication cultures strive to maintain the honor and face of both the speaker and listener. Therefore, the speaker says what s/he thinks the listener wants to hear, even if this is not the unadulterated truth. Such face-saving is considered kind, polite and respectful.

This can be confusing for those of us who are direct communicators because we expect communication to be clear and precise, where what is said is what is meant. For direct communicators, their word is their bond.

Indirect communication relies on context, particularly eye contact, facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language rather than the spoken word. By paying attention to non-verbal language, listeners can decipher the true message. If you come from a direct culture, it may take time to understand the nuances of indirect communication where what is not said can be as important as what is said. People from direct cultures must learn to listen hard to avoid missing the subtleties. They may also need to temper their speech pattern to not appear overly blunt and rude.

Clues to help you decipher indirect communication:

• In Azerbaijan, people apologize for saying no to a request. They may add phrases such as “I wish it were possible”, “If it were possible I would do it” or “In the future it may be possible.”
• Be on the lookout for the word “maybe” because it can be used to make a direct statement indirect. Rather than tell me this blog needs to be edited, a Chinese publisher might say, “Maybe this blog should be edited.”
• If you hear phrases such as “I will see”, “I will try” or “It may be difficult,” you’ve probably been given a negative response.
• If there is a long pause or other non-verbal cues such as avoiding the eyes or evasive responses, you’ve probably just been told no.
• Rather than accept assurances or agreements on face value, ask for specifics. It can be difficult to get definite answers to questions if the response would be negative. Therefore, watch for evasions or half statements.

There are times when bad news must be given. That’s not a problem to the direct communicator, but presents a real challenge to the indirect communicator. In many Asian countries, bad news is handled by a third-party so that both sides can retain face. Negative questions are another interesting quirk of indirect communication since the response may differ depending upon which language is used.

• In response to the question “Isn’t this document ready?”, the English response would be “no”, meaning the document is not ready, while the Japanese response would be “yes”, meaning “yes, the document is not ready.”
• Russians often ask negative questions such as “Did you not know?”, so that the person responding may give a positive response to indicate a negative answer.

If you are from a culture with a more direct communication style, you may need to train your ear and mind to catch indirectness before responding to questions, or else your response may confuse the listener.

How do you ensure you’re getting the correct answer?

• Ask open-ended questions and ask the same question several ways (re-phrase) to make certain you understood the response.
• Learn to phrase questions so that the desired response is not obvious. Instead of asking, “Will the report be finished by Friday?” you might ask, “When will the report be finished?”

For those of us who have been raised in direct cultures, it is important that we learn to understand the signals we receive from indirect communicators. Otherwise, we create our own baffling towers of Babel.

Carrie
RW3 CultureWizard

This Mint.com infographic on tipping etiquette around the world has been circulating around the internet for the last few weeks. The link has spread through expat-related sites like wildfire.

Why?

Expats and foreign travelers want to be culturally sensitive to locally expected behavior norms. Tipping practices are different from city to city and country to country, and with so many nuances, it’s difficult to synthesize the information in an easily read format.

While I found the graphic interesting, it was a broad overview rather than an in-depth study of the topic. There’s so much more to know than just the amount to tip in a restaurant.

In Peru, you shouldn’t leave the tip on the table and should put the money directly into the waitperson’s hand. While in Russia, tips should be in cash, even when you pay with a credit card. In Colombia, wait staff will often ask in advance of bringing the bill if it’s ok to include the tip, which is generally 10%, making miscalculation a non-issue.

In some countries, if there’s a service charge, there’s no need to tip (e.g. Denmark and many Nordic countries). In others where a service charge is added to the bill, guests are still expected to leave a small sum. This is often the case in Latin and South America, France, Italy, South Korea and Spain. Then, there are the countries where the service charge goes to the government and tipping wait staff is expected, as in many Middle Eastern countries.

Sometimes the rules vary if you’re a local vs. an expat. Although locals do not tip in Cambodia, leaving a small amount can materially help out a waitperson’s family. In Japan, locals don’t tip, but even with the service charge, wait staff in certain establishments have begun to expect tips from foreigners.

In other countries, e.g. Egypt and India, the wait person may directly say you have not tipped sufficiently.

The same behavior can be interpreted differently across the globe. In Germany, patrons are expected to thank the waitperson, even if they left a tip. In Poland, if you thank the waitperson as you hand them the bill with cash, you’re inviting them to keep the change.

In Hungary, if you’re paying in cash, you should tell the waitperson how much you want to pay, not how much change you want back. This is the opposite of what you do in many other countries.

What interesting tipping practices and foibles have you encountered in your travels?

Carrie
RW3 CultureWizard

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqZcEwHBAk8

How many ways can you apologize in Japan? What is appropriate for various situations? Find out more about the delicate matter by watching this video!

With the obvious exception of Saudi Arabia, this conventional wisdom has remained the norm. Yet, even before the Arab Spring of 2011, the dress code for women had begun to change in several countries in the region.

Dressing modestly remains the goal. Form-fitting trousers, see-through blouses or tight T-shirts remain culturally insensitive. Most Middle Easterners make inferences about someone’s status by their clothing; dressing well denotes status in Middle Eastern cultures.

That the world becomes smaller every day is borne out by the changes in what women may successfully wear in the Middle East. Trousers have become increasingly fashionable in many countries as long as they aren’t form-fitting. They make it easier to sit without worrying about how much leg is exposed. In the office, trousers should cover the ankle.

If you’re traveling to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Bahrain, your skirt can skim the top of your knee. However, and this is important, your skirt must be the same length when you sit down. So, pencil skirts are out, but full skirts and dirndl style skirts can often do the job.

In the same region, women can wear sleeveless blouses as long as they aren’t tight and the fabric isn’t revealing. The neckline must be modest (absolutely no cleavage).

Like most rules, there are exceptions. If your company policy allows clothing that may not be acceptable outside the office, it’s a good idea to keep a scarf with you, or carry a pashmina in case you have to meet with someone who is ultra conservative. These items can come in handy when you’re not at work and you don’t know the religious inclination of people on the street. The pashmina can also be a handy cover for your shoulders when the air-conditioning is set too high.

When visiting Iran and Saudi Arabia, women must cover their clothing with either an abaya or manteau and wear a headscarf. In Iran, the hijab should not allow any hair to show (for tips on how to accomplish this, check out the Role of Women article in the Iran Country Profile on CultureWizard). In Saudi Arabia, women should wear an abaya and headscarf. Outside Riyadh, the headscarf may often be omitted, although regulations vary by region and change frequently and without warning.

Carrie
RW3 CultureWizard

+ Unlike many other Latin American countries where there is a distinct indigenous population, Brazilians have intermarried to the point that nearly everyone has a combination of European, African, and indigenous ancestry.

+ Brazilian conversations are fast-paced and animated with frequent interruptions. Exclamations and a great deal of physical contact are normal.

+ Soccer is a highly respected national institution. Never say that another country plays soccer better than Brazil.

+ Appearances matters to Brazilians both in business and daily life. This includes dressing well and staying at the best hotel that your budget can accommodate.
- Men should wear conservative, dark-colored business suits. Lighter colored suits may be worn in the summer. Three-piece suits generally indicate that someone is an executive.
- Business attire for women is extremely important. Brazilian businesswomen generally wear elegant business suits or dresses with high quality accessories.

+ In doing business, much time is spent developing a friendly relationship. It will usually take several visits to close a deal as Brazilians need to know who they are doing business with before they can work together.

+ A foreign businessperson should learn as much about the Brazilian economic and commercial environment as possible before conducting business.

+ Status in Brazil is based more on educational and professional accomplishments than on family background.

+ By nature, Brazilians are future oriented, yet strongly fatalistic at the same time. They have strong religious beliefs but do not see themselves as having total control over their destiny.

- from RW3 CultureWizard’s Country Profiles

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