Never touch a Malay on the top of the head, for that is where the soul resides. Never show the sole of your shoe to an Arab, for it is dirty and represents the bottom of the body, and never use your left hand in Muslim culture, for it is reserved for physical hygiene. Touch the side of your nose in Italy and it is a sign of distrust. Always look directly and intently into your French associate's eye when making an important point. Direct eye contact in Southeast Asia, however, should be avoided until- the relationship is, firmly established. If your Japanese associate has just sucked air in deeply through his teeth, that's a sign you've got real problems. Your Mexican associate will want to embrace you, at the end of a long and successful negotiation; so will your central and eastern European associates, who my give you a bear hug and kiss you three times on alternating cheeks. Americans often stand farther apart than -their Latin and Arab associates but closer than their Asian associates. In the United States, people shake hands forcefully and enduringly: in Europe, a handshake is usually quick and to the point; in Asia, it is often rather limp. Laughter and giggling in the West Indies indicates humor; in Asia, it more often indicates embarrassment and humility. Additionally, the public expression of deep emotion is considered ill-mannered in most countries of the Pacific Rim; there is an extreme separation between one's personal and public selves With- holding emotion in Latin America, however, is often cause for mistrust.
Negotiations. For instance, in China it is important to establish relationship connections early in the negotiation process, and selection of the appropriate negotiators can help with this (see Zhu, McKenna, and Sun, 2007).
Protocol
Cultures differ in the degree to which protocol, or the formality of the relations between the two negotiating parties, is important. American culture is among the least formal cultures in the world- A familiar communication style is quite common; first names are used, for example, while titles are ignored. Contrast this with other cultures. Many European countries (e.g., France, Germany, England) are very formal, and not using the proper title when addressing someone (e-g., Mr., Dr., professor, Lord) is considered insulting (see Braganti and Devine, 1992). The formal calling cards or business cards used in many countries in the Pacific Rim (e.g., China, Japan) are essential for introductions there. Negotiators who forget to bring business cards or who write messages on them are breaching protocol and insulting their counterpart (Foster, 1992). Even the way that business cards are presented, hands are shaken, and dress codes are observed are subject to interpretation by negotiators and can be the foundation of attributions about a person's background and personality (items such as business cards are passed with two hands from person to person throughout Asia-using only one hand is considered quite rude).
Communication
Cultures influence how people communicate. both verbally and nonverbally. There are also differences in body language across cultures; a behavior that may be highly insulting in one culture may be completely innocuous in another (Axtell. 1990. I991. 1993)