(Track 35 หน้า 109 )
1). Hi, I'm Jane Smart. I work for an international company in Canada. My company often sends me to Asia on business. One important thing I had to learn is that in general Asians are not as informal as we Canadians.
(2). In North America and Great Britain, people have a first or given name such as Jane or John, and a last or family name such as Smart or Smith. In formal situations we use Mr. for men or Ms. for women, so I would be Ms. Smart. In Canada we use first names most of the time, but not many Asians do that in a business situation. So let me tell you about some of the things I have discovered.
(3). In China, the family name is always first, so if you meet Zhang Ping, Zhang is the family name and Ping is the given name. I didn't know this, and on my first visit to Beijing, I was surprised when somebody called me "Ms. Smart Jane" Today, the Chinese often use Western names when they do business with Westerners -they are easier to pronounce.