Meeting Etiquette
You are meeting a Brazilian business partner for the first time. What is the safest professional greeting?
Handshake with friendly eye contact
True or false: In Brazil, getting straight to business and avoiding personal conversations the best way to be professional.
False
What language should you expect Brazilian businesspeople to speak: Spanish or Portuguese?
Portugese
You have an important formal business meeting in Brazil. Should you dress casually because Brazil has a warm climate?
No. Professional business attire is the safer choice?
Your Brazilian business partner invites you to lunch. They spend the beginning of lunch talking about their family instead of the contract. What should you do?
What is strengthen the relationship at a personal level: engage in the conversation, ask about family, relationship values, and hold-off on asking about the contract?
You have a meeting at 10am. Your Brazilian counterparts may be more flexible about time. What is appropriate for you to arrive
You arrive for a 10:00 a.m. meeting
What should you focus on developing before trying to quickly close a major deal in Brazil?
What is trust and personal relationships?
Compared with typical U.S. business interactions, should you be surprised if a Brazilian colleague stands closer to you or is more expressive during conversation?
No
You're frustrated because negotiations are taking longer than expected. What should you not do?
What is pressuring your Brazilian counterparts into making an immediate decision?
You're making introductions and assume your Brazilian colleagues also speak Spanish, so you talk to them in Spanish. What would you do when met with blank stares?
What is apologize for the assumption, switch to English if appropriate, and ask which language they are most comfortable speaking?
Before discussing the contract, your Brazilian partners spend time talking about family and everyday life. What should you do?
What is participate in the conversation and build rapport instead of immediately pushing business?
Your company has been negotiating with a Brazilian company for several meetings. Why might changing your negotiating team repeatedly be a bad idea?
What is it can interfere with the personal relationships and trust being developed?
Your Brazilian counterpart disagrees with part of your proposal but communicates the disagreement indirectly. Should you automatically assume they agree because they didn't directly say “no”?
No. Pay attention to context and indirect communication?
You're trying to impress your Brazilian hosts. Which is the bigger mistake: showing interest in Brazilian culture or repeatedly comparing Brazil negatively with the United States?
What is negatively comparing Brazil with the United States?
You have one day in Brazil and need a contract signed immediately. Your counterpart insists on another meeting before deciding. What's your best move?
What is be patient, continue building trust, and avoid pressuring them into signing immediately?