Self Help

If you are involved in an international negotiation, you must prepare for a whole host of issues. Most people have some advance notice if their business is heading in the direction of an international negotiation. If you have an inkling that international negotiations are in your future, start early to gather as much information about the culture, laws, and business practices of the nationality with whom you are negotiating.

The people who negotiate best in a culture other than their own have usually had the good fortune to live in that culture for a part of their lives. If they are really lucky, they were young at the time and could absorb the culture without judgment. If you weren’t fortunate enough to have lived in the same culture as the person with whom you are negotiating, you have some extra prep work to do.

It’s one thing to read a briefing paper about a culture that is different from your own. It’s quite another thing to absorb that culture so that you can move comfortably with its rhythm and its rules. Learning to respect a culture takes even longer. When you respect the culture and truly understand its people’s roots, you advance a long way toward effectively dealing with the individuals within that group.