I am going to post info about different cultures. I hope it will be interesting AND useful, as many of you are already working with partners, suppliers and colleagues from different countries. If you have any specific questions about how to deal with in this or that cross-cultural situation, please let me know. I will try to help.
Let's start with Europe...
Austria
A formal address/greeting to a partner (it can be any official person) is as follows: Herr/Frau + professional / formal title + last name, e.g.: Herr Doctor Schmitz. The spouse of the person should be addressed in the same way, e.g.: Frau Doctor Schmitz.
Addressing any woman over the age of 18 should begin with the word Frau, regardless of her marital status.
When using German to communicate, address your partner as "You" (in German "Sie"), especially at the beginning of the business relationship.
Degrees and titles, especially in situations of first contact or in formal communication in general, are very important.
It is not accepted to call a partner by his first name, while omitting the last name. Wait until the partner himself offers you to call him by name.
Young people are traditionally less formal in their communication, moving more quickly to the use of "you" (in German "du") and addressing each other by their first name rather than their last name.
Let's continue speaking about national cultures.
This time it's another European country –
France
And again let's see how business people greet each other. It's different from greetings in Austria.
The usual form of greeting is a handshake, which should be light and quick. Every meeting begins and ends with a handshake.
A man can take the initiative by extending his hand to a woman for a handshake.
Hugging and kissing are accepted between women who already know each other well. For men, such a greeting is only possible with close friends or in the family.
Depending on the locality or even the city of France, the kissing ritual may differ mainly in quantity. When greeting each other, parties may exchange kisses up to 5 or even 6 times. On which cheek to start - that's a question only locals can answer.
Keep eye contact with your partner lightly. It is considered indecent to look away during conversations.