Intercultural Business Taboos: What to Avoid

Today's business ventures are becoming more and more globalized compared to business fifteen years ago. Understanding intercultural business communication taboos and what to avoid can ultimately save a company's business and lead to the deal of a lifetime or if uninformed lead to a dead deal.

Intercultural taboos are those practices or verbal expressions considered by certain societies or cultures as improper or unacceptable in business. Taboos are often rooted in the beliefs of the people of a specific region or culture and are handed down from generation to generation. In this article I am going to provide the most avoidable intercultural taboos and prepare you for success in intercultural business communication.

Many cultural norms for business negotiators in the U.S. may be considered disrespectful, improper, and even unacceptable by many other cultures. For example, in Taiwan messages written in red ink carries a negative connotation representing death. In addition, writing a person's name in red in certain cultures like Mexico, China, and Korea also carry detrimental negative connotations that must be avoided. In the U.S. writing in red ink could represent a correction to a contract. Good international ink colors to utilize in business are black and blue.

Other cultural taboos to avoid include pointing your index finger in Malaysia. Instead it is proper in Malaysia to point with the thumb. In Indonesia it is unacceptable to touch someone else's head in any form or fashion, because the head is considered a sacred part of the human body. In the U.S. we see people to include business negotiators, as a sign of respect and hospitality, patting a child's head. This behavior would cause serious concern in Indonesia.

In more prominent cultures where a lot of international business has begun to develop, Arab and Russian cultures, a business negotiator may run across an entire set of taboos that must be avoided. In Arab cultures it is improper to ask the health of a man's wife and in Russian culture whistling in the street, coats worn indoors, and lunch on park benches will raise concern.

These are just a few common regions that business is conducted internationally, but as you can see something considered a norm in the U.S. may be very disrespectful in a foreign nation. It is highly advisable when in international business negotiations to learn the do's and taboos of that culture. It will be one of the most important pieces of research that can be done in order to seal the deal in any international business venture.