Before engaging in trade activities with the British, it is important to be familiar with the British business culture. To avoid embarrassment, we should pay attention to the following business etiquette.
First, we should realize that British culture is different from American culture. Britain is a relatively traditional and conservative country. The British are very reserved and introverted, and rarely show strong emotions when engaging in trade activities. They prefer to use indirect language, humor and understatement to keep business situations calm and low-key. Indirect speech is an important feature of British business culture communication. They dislike direct conflicts and often use polite language to avoid offending the other party. The British feel that overly direct and frank opposition is a manifestation of arrogance and aggressiveness, which will affect the development of business between each other. Therefore, when engaging in trade activities with the British, we must learn to read their potential thoughts and avoid expressing direct thoughts.
Secondly, another important feature of British business culture is humor, which is often used to ease tense emotions and atmosphere. Although they like to show a certain sense of humor in a business environment, this does not mean that the British do not take transactions seriously.
Third, customer service staff should pay attention to the correct address of the British when communicating with them. The United Kingdom is made up of four different political entities (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), and people in each region are proud of their own unique culture. Therefore, customer service staff should pay attention when addressing British customers that “English person” only refers to people in England, while Scottish people should be called “Scottish”, Welsh people should be called “Welsh”, and Northern Irish people should be called “Irish”. Do not make mistakes, otherwise it will cause their disgust. In addition, the British like to call each other by their first name (first name) directly.
Finally, the British also attach great importance to punctuality. When attending a business meeting, be sure to arrive at the venue about 5 minutes in advance, but if you attend a banquet about 5 minutes late, it is considered polite because it means giving the host or the host enough time to prepare for the banquet.