Cross Cultural Etiquette and Manners: Australia

Australia: Etiquette and Manners

(Also refer: http://executive-manners.blogspot.com/ for general etiquette and manners, http://dining-manners.blogspot.com/ dining etiquette and table manners, http://telephone-etiquette.blogspot.com/ for telephone etiquette, http://email-etiquette-manners.blogspot.com/ for email etiquette)

• You can communicate in English while in Australia. English is the main language used in Australia.
• For business meetings, appointments are essential though relatively easy to fix and schedule. Make your appointments well in advance.
• For business, dress conservatively. Men should wear a dark colored business suit. Women should wear any smart decent dress or a business suit. Particularly in tropical areas of Australia, you may find Australians wearing shirt, tie and bermuda shorts.
• You should be punctual for business meetings in Australia. It is even better to arrive a few minutes early.
• Exchange your business cards at the time of introduction. No formal rituals are necessary. If you do not receive a business card from some person, do not feel offended by it; perhaps the person may not have one with him.
• Business meetings are serious events but they are conducted in a relaxed environment and manner.
• Australians are not very formal. So you can greet them with handshake and smile and by saying “hello” or “hello, how are you”. . People in Australia prefer to use first names, even at the initial meeting.
• Normally Australians are modest people with a sense of humor. You can reciprocate in the same way. You need not be pretentious or boasting type.
• In business dealings, Australians do not find it necessary to have long-standing personal relationships with people with whom they intend doing business. Business communications are pretty direct. If an Australian disapproves something that you mention, he will tell you about it.
• You can get down to business quickly with minimum small talk.
• In your presentation, avoid exaggerated claims and present only facts and figures. Australian business people appreciate brevity. Emotional overtures are not important in the Australian business scenario.
• Pace of business is relatively quick to start with but may slow down at the time of final decision making since decision are normally made at the top level of the company.
• Negotiations or bargaining is done to the extent that they expect your initial proposal to have only a small margin for negotiation. Avoid high-pressure or aggressive techniques while negotiating or dealing with Australian businessmen.
• If invited to some one's home for dinner, please take with you a good quality bottle of wine or box of chocolates or flowers and present to the hostess.
• If invited to some one's home for barbecue, the invitees usually bring wine or beer for their personal consumption.
• You will need to follow continental table manners while dining (for example, holding the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right while eating and indicating that you have finished eating by laying your knife and fork parallel on your plate etc).
• Follow other usual dining table manners (refer: http://dining-manners.blogspot.com/).
• You can open the gifts when received.