Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Many Americans and others from classic low-context cultures occasionally do. When international deals go bad, the temptation is to dismiss them as examples of the “perfidious French” in action or the “sneaky (fill in the appropriate nationality) showing their true colors!” By the way, what is a low-context culture anyway?

Lows and highs
Those who’ve taken international marketing courses are perhaps familiar with the differences between low-context and high-context cultures. The United States is considered a low-context culture--we try always to say what we mean and to do what we say, and we appreciate this straightforwardness in others. All English-speaking countries tend to be low context. And as businesspeople who are products of a low-context culture, we find it entirely possible to work with total strangers--and frequently do. If we have the right agreement, with the right terms and conditions, we shake hands and “do the deal” or turn it over to the lawyers or staff “to work out the details.” It’s even possible to do all this in a single meeting. In fact, it is good when we can do our business quickly, because “time is money.” If anything should go wrong in a deal, we just bring the lawyers back in to straighten matters out and we “move on.”

High-context cultures, however, are more numerous throughout the world. Most of continental Europe is high context, as is Japan. The Japanese are famous for smiling and saying “Hai (Yes).” But most American businesspeople have come to know that this doesn’t necessarily mean their Japanese counterparts are agreeing with them. Rather, they’re acknowledging that “yes, I hear what you are saying.”

In high-context cultures, business deals are most often struck among friends, family relations, and other close associates. Strangers usually do not succeed in this environment, and lawyers don’t have much of a role to play in cultures where verbal agreements and understandings are often considered more serious and binding than written contracts. In truth, they are more binding because personal honor and integrity are at stake, and these are qualities that are valued more than money--don’t make the fatal error of believing otherwise.

Dancing lessons
Meetings in high-context cultures can be frustrating and puzzling affairs for an outsider from a low-context culture. Meetings often start with what Americans call small talk:

· Are you married?
· If you have children, what are their ages?
· Do you play sports or have any hobbies?
· Where did you go to school?
· Where does your family come from?

Age, gender, and title play important roles. A 35-year-old wunderkind may be surprised to find she is having difficulty establishing simple eye contact with the older man across the conference room table.

In high-context cultures, such get-acquainted rituals have a purpose: to help executives evaluate whether you as a stranger should be granted access to their inner circle. The fact that you are having this first meeting means you have established some level of credibility, but whether you are invited back depends on much more. Such follow-on considerations might include:

· Are you trustworthy?
· Do you take them and the business you are discussing seriously?
· How important is this business relationship to you?
· Are you in for the long term?
· Will you be there for them tomorrow, if, and when, they should need you?

In slower-paced high-context cultures, quick deals are unheard of. This is their business you are discussing. More than likely the leaders have spent their professional lives developing this business, and they expect to spend what remains of their useful working lives continuing to build it. So if you want their cooperation, you will have to deal with them on their terms, or you won’t have their business--it’s as simple as that.

Listening to what’s not spoken
Now back to the case of the canceled meeting in Paris; there is, of course, more to the story. The first meeting went well indeed and led to a follow-up meeting. The Americans viewed meeting deux as the time to set the terms of the deal. Despite having to work through a French interpreter, they got down to business fast and defined all the terms of the arrangements quickly, and in as much detail as a single day would permit, before heading back to the airport and home. The third meeting, in the Americans’ minds, was a formality--one in which the deal would be blessed by a broader group of directors. But, of course, the third meeting never happened.

The Americans thought they had the elements of a deal after the first meeting, and they undoubtedly did, but did they still have an agreement after their second meeting? They left the latter thinking they did, but more than likely they were completely missing the signals being sent in a high-context culture.

If this is yet another case of low-context businesspeople not being in sync with the values of a high-context culture, how can such problems be avoided? Here are some thoughts to consider.

· Do your homework. Use all and every reliable source to find out about the people and organization you intend to deal with. Who are they, what are their needs, how are decisions made, and can you tailor what you have to say in a way that will be received best?

· If you don’t have the time to spend, delegate research to a person who does. Use the best-qualified person in your organization who has time to devote to the project and experience with international/intercultural negotiation, or hire someone who does. Make sure they have ample resources. Come in at the end to sign the deal, but do not engage yourself upfront if you do not have time to follow through.

· Try not to rely on a translator provided by your prospective business partner. Ideally, you should speak the language, or if not, employ someone who can speak for you. Interpretation from one language to another is not a science but an art. Do not allow yourself to be tone deaf to nuances, gestures, and expressions that may mean a world more than the actual words used to translate them.

· Think long term. You may be a person who is going places quickly, but if you want this international agreement, you need to think long term and be able to express what you want in terms of years and decades--nothing shorter is going to be considered as a serious proposition.

There is nothing wrong with being from a low-context culture--except in not being self-aware that your culture and approach doesn’t work everywhere. Sometimes, you cannot take “yes” as an answer.

Steven M. Worth is president of Plexus Consulting Group, Washington, D.C. E-mail: steve_worth@plexusconsulting.com