Meeting Etiquette
You are meeting a Brazilian business partner for the first time. What is the safest professional greeting?
What is a handshake with friendly eye contact?
What should you focus on developing before trying to quickly close a major deal in Brazil?
What is trust and personal relationships?
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 engage in the conversation and use the opportunity to strengthen the relationship?
You arrive for a 10:00 a.m. meeting. Should you arrive on time even though your Brazilian counterparts may be more flexible about time?
Yes
True or false: In Brazil, getting straight to business and avoiding personal conversation is generally the best way to appear professional.
False
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 accidentally start speaking Spanish to your Brazilian colleagues. What's the cultural mistake?
What is assuming Brazilians speak Spanish when Brazil's official language is Portuguese?
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 wants another meeting before deciding. What's your best move?
What is be patient, continue building trust, and avoid pressuring them into signing immediately?