It takes just a 2.5 second pause in conversation; other cultures can take up to 10 seconds…
A study has shown how vulnerable Portuguese nationals could be in tough business negotiations.
According to academic Erin Mayer, speaking today at the QSP Summit at Exponor, in Matosinhos (Porto district), Portuguese people can tolerate 2.5 seconds of silence in a conversation before feeling uncomfortable. Other cultures can reach 10 seconds.
Chinese nationals, for example, “can go eight or even 10 seconds without feeling that something unusual is happening”, she said at the opening session of the summit, the theme of which this year is ‘The New Strategic Drivers’, proposing “reflection on the strategic drivers that are transforming organisations – from culture to technology, including strategy, people, communication, education, performance and even ethics”.
Meyer’s qualifications for speaking at QSP involve her authorship of “The Culture Map” in 2014 – a study on ‘breaking through the invisible boundaries of global business’ in order to show just how much cultural differences can affect relationships in the business world.
A professor at INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau, France, Meyer explains that in some cultures, if you “remain silent for a few seconds, it is likely that you will interpret this silence as something negative, indicating anger or annoyance. But in other cultures the same silence can be interpreted as something very positive”. It could denote, for instance, that the listener is “thinking carefully”, even impressed.
According to a graph showing the results of Erin Meyer’s recent research, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, China, Finland and Indonesia are at the top of the list of cultures “most comfortable with silence” – while at the opposite end are countries like Portugal, Italy, the United States, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Brazil.
In her presentation today, Meyer also addressed different aspects of business culture in various countries, focusing mainly on how it varies in areas such as giving or receiving negative feedback, and how work meetings are conducted and their conclusions interpreted.
According to her data, countries with a business culture that tends to give negative feedback more directly are the Netherlands, Russia, Germany, Denmark, Poland and France.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, where negative feedback is given more indirectly, are countries like Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Colombia, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
In short, when different cultures meet, there are often different perceptions, interpretations and expectations – and understanding these, and being able to navigate a successful path, will be what makes ‘all the difference’ – hence this QSP Summit which is taking place through until Thursday.
Source material: LUSA
