Discussion point.

1. Answer the questions.

1. Can we presuppose that everyone in the country is going to behave in the same way?

2. Describe a typical person from

1. the USA

2. Great Britain

3. the North (South ) of your country

4. the capital of your country

3. To what extent are such stereotypes useful?

4. To what extent are they dangerous?

5. Which of the things below are important in your country when you're requesting something?

1. smiling

2. polite formulas

3. friendly body language

4. polite intonation

5. eye contact

2. How important are these things when doing business in your country? Are they a) important, b) not important or c) best avoided?

exchanging business cards	eye contact
being formal or informal	socialising with contacts
shaking hands	giving presents
punctuality	small talk before meetings
bowing	being direct (saying exactly what you think)
humour	accepting interruption
kissing	using first names

3. Complete the questionnaire, and then compare your answers with a partner.

1. When do acquaintances shake hands in your country?

   1. they don't shake hands at all

   2. every time they meet during a day

   3. when they meet for the first time during a day

   4. when they say goodbye

2. When do people bow in your country?

   1. they don't bow

   2. they bow only to Heads of State

   3. they bow to superiors

   4. they bow to customers

   5. acquaintances bow when they meet

3. Which of these groups hug?

   1. no one hugs

   2. women hug women

   3. men hug women, women hug men

   4. men hug men

   5. adults hug children

4. Which people kiss each other when they meet in your country?

   1. no one kisses in public in my country

   2. close relatives

   3. people in love

   4. good friends

   5. acquaintances

   6. colleagues

   7. strangers

5. A man meets a woman business friend. What happens?

   1. they don't kiss

   2. they kiss once (on one cheek)

   3. they kiss twice (once on each cheek)

   4. they kiss three times on the cheeks

   5. they kiss on the lips

   6. he kisses her hand

Section III

Vocabulary exercises

1. Complete the idioms in the sentences below with the words in the box.

end

eye

eye

fire

foot

ice

water

water

1. Small talk is one way to break the ice when meeting someone for the first time.

2. I was thrown in at the deep_______ when my company sent me to run the German office. I was only given two days' notice to get everything ready.

3. We don't see eye to________with our US parent company about punctuality. We have very different ideas about what being 'on time' means. It's a question of culture.

4. I got into hot_______with my boss for wearing casual clothes to the meeting with the potential Japanese customers.

5. I really put my_______ in it when I met our Spanish partner. Because I was nervous, I said 'Who are you?' rather than 'How are you?'.

6. I get on like a house on________with our Polish agent; we like the same things and have the same sense of humour.

7. When I visited China for the first time, I was like a fish out of________. Everything was so different, and I couldn't read any of the signs!

8. My first meeting with our overseas clients was a real______-opener. I hadn't seen that style of negotiation before.

2. Consider the context of each idiom in Exercise I and decide which have:

a) a positive meaning b) a negative meaning.

3. Match the idioms (1-8) to the correct meanings (a-h).

to break the ice	given a difficult job to do without preparation
a real eye-opener	quickly have a friendly relationship with someone
to put one’s foot in it	feel uncomfortable in an unfamiliar situation
not to see eye-to-eye with smb	say or do something without thinking carefully, so that you embarrass or upset someone
to get into hot water	disagree with someone
to get on like a house on fire	an experience where you learn something surprising or something you did not know before
to be thrown in at the deep end	make someone you have just met less nervous and more willing to talk
like a fish out of water	get into trouble

4. Discuss the following.

1. What tips do you have for breaking the ice at meetings with new clients/people from other cultures?

2. Talk about a place you have visited which was a real eye-opener.

3. Describe a situation when you

   1. put your foot in it

   2. felt like a fish out of water

   3. got into hot water

   4. were thrown in at the deep end

5. Complete the sentences with a preposition from the box.

over up in with of

1. Leo's been to Nigeria many times. He knows the culture inside out .

2. We've told you everything about this job opportunity in Uzbekistan. Now you tell us what you think. The ball is______ your court.

3. Sometimes it doesn't really matter if you don't know the culture. You just need to maintain a good-natured attitude and go ______ the flow.

4. Because she has a very good grasp _________ Russian, Linda quickly became integrated into the local community when she moved to Omsk.

5. If any of the presentations runs _________ schedule, we'll be late for the final plenary meeting.

6. With this conference next month, we're all _________to our eyes in work at the office.