Business-Card-Etiquette

BusinessCardEtiquetteOneofthefirstimpressionsyouwillmakeonaforeigncolleagueisthroughyourbusinesscard,andinmanycultures,especiallyinAsia,theexchangeofbusinesscardsisameaningfulritualratherthanacasualinformality.ThisisespeciallytrueinJapan,wherethebusinesscardexchangeisasformalasitgetsanywhereintheworld.Today,itismoreanecessitythanacourtesytohaveyourcardtranslatedintothelocallanguageofthecountryyouarevisiting.Bilingualcardsarethenorm,withonesideprintedinyourhomelanguageandtheothersideintheforeignlanguageinwhichyouaredealing.Ifyouareusingaone-sidedcard,alwayshandyourcardtoacolleaguewiththeprintedfaceup.Ifitisabilingualcard,besurethatthesideusingthelocallanguageisfaceup.Neverflingacardacrossthetableorontoadesk.Itistheheightofbadmannersornyetkulturny(devoidofculture)astheRussianwouldsay.Asiansconsideritanextraordinarilyrudegesture.TheprivilegesofrankIfpresentingtoamultitudeofforeigncontactsatonce,giveyourcardtothehighest-rankingindividualorleaderofthedelegationfirst.Thisisasignofrespectandavoidsembarrassingthelesser-rankingmembersofthedelegationwhomayevenrefuseyourcardiftheheadhonchohasnotyetreceiveone.InmostAsiancolures,presentingacardwithtwohandsconveysrespectandanappreciationoftheimportanceoftheritual.Itisbesttoholdthecardbythetwouppercornerswhenmakingthepresentation.Likewise,youshouldreceiveabusinesscardwithbothhands.Onceyouhaveitinhand,taketimetoreadit----notmerelyaglancebutadeliberatestudy.Oftenthisisanidealtimetorepeattheperson’sname,whichwillhelpyouconnectthefacetothename.InJapanandinmanyotherAsianculturesitisinsultingtoputthecarddirectlyinyourpocket,walletorcardcasewithoutgivingitsufficientstudytime.InJapanitisbestofyoutolaythecardinfrontofyouonthetable,especiallyduringthefirstmeeting.Thisisasignofgreatrespect.OneexceptiontothisruleisinKorea.,whereitisconsideredoddbehaviortostareatthecardorvenerateitbyplacingitonthetable.ThereitisOKtohaveaglanceandplaceitinyourpocketforlatereference.Whileyoumaywriteonyourowncard,itisconsideredrudeanddisrespectfultowriteonsomeoneelse’s.treatthecardwithrespect.Ideally,carryasmallpocketcardholderorcase.IntheIslamicworldthelefthandisconsideredunclean.Eveninmanynon-IslamicareasofAfricaandAsia,thetraditionhasevolvedofusingtherighthandinpreferenceovertheleft.Sowhenpresentingorreceivingabusinesscardusetherighthand.InEuropeandNorthAmerica,businesscardsarefarlessformalizedandareusedmerelytokeeptrackofwho’swhoduringahecticmeetingschedule.Ifyoucometosellinthesesocieties,yourhostswillbeconcentratingonyourproductnotyourbusinesscard.TheRulesoftheCardGameIt’snotonlypolitetohaveyourcardtranslatedintothelocallanguageitisnowconsideredamust.Makeitworkforyou.Alwayspresentyourcardwiththeprintedsideupor,inthecaseofbilingualcards,withthelocallanguagesideshowing.Waittobeintroducedbeforepresentingyourbusinesscard.Presentthecardsoneatatimeintheorderofthehierarchyofthedelegation.Content:includeyournameandbusinesstitle.Insomeculturesitiscommontoincludeyouracademicdegreesaswell.Businesstitlescanbeconfusingandoftendonottranslateexactly.Ifyourtitleisonethatisnotinternationallycommon,suchasChiefLearningOfficer,considerusingatranslationthatavoidstheliteralandratherportraysyourstatusandjobinwordsorconceptsthatmaybemorefamiliartoyourhost.Don’tinflatejobtitles.Alsomakesuretocheckthetranslation.Youdon’twantVicePresidentofSalestocomeoutasPresidentofViceSelling.Well-knownortrademarkedacronyms(suchasIBM)neednotbetranslatednordowordsincludedinlogos.Takeplentyofcards.Itcanbehighlyembarrassingtorunoutofthemandinsomeculturesitwouldbeaninsult.Manyexecutivescarrytowsetsofcards.Onesetisusedpurelyforintroductionsandhasnodirectcontactinformation.Theotherisusedformoreseriousencountersandincludesdetailedcontactinformation.Alwaystreatyourcolleagues’cardswithrespect.ritual礼节multituden.多数honchon.美俚上司,老板veneratev.崇敬