Background – land, climate, and
history
 People – population, language, religion,
general attitudes, and personal
appearance
 Customs and Courtesies – greetings,
gestures, visiting, and eating

Lifestyle – family, dating and marriage,
diet, recreation, holidays, and
commerce
 Society – government, economy,
transportation, communication,
education, and health


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Clairol introduced the “mist stick,” a
curling iron but found in Germany, mist is
slang for manure.
In Chinese, KFC slogan “finger-lickin’
good” came out as “eat your fingers off.”
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Use international icons, and avoid
any symbolisms that mean one
thing in one culture and another in
a different culture
Owl (means wisdom in US and
considered a stupid bird in China)

“Ok” sign


Hand wave

(palm facing outward)

Nodding head to say
“Yes”

Rude and insulting in Russia,
Germany, and Brazil
Means money in Japan
Means zero in France
“Go away” or “no” in India and
Europe
Bulgaria and Greece means
“No”
Gestures may cause misinterpretations and
bad feelings
Women


Take more time to ask
questions to build a rapport
with clients
Women tend to process
things abstractly
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
Feeling, empathy, intuitive
Harmony, closeness
Relationships, sharing
Cooperation, group
Women talk out loud to
others, processing
information externally for
decision making.
Men


Men want to get directly
down to business
Men process
information analytically


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

Reason, logic
Power, rank, status
Compete, winning
Team, think
Men view conversation as
a means to exchange
information and problem
solve
The language, especially
the vocabulary, peculiar to
a particular trade,
profession, or group.
1.
All messages must inform
2.
Many messages must persuade
3.
All messages should build
relationships of trust
Content Specialist - Formal
 Grammar





It is
He is
Wording

Peer to Peer - Informal
 Grammar
Repair
Thank you
Do not end a sentence
with a preposition.



It’s
He’s
Wording


Fix
Thanks
Adjust your dress
to at least the
same level as
your audience or
one step above.
Honesty: honorable in
principles, intentions, and
actions; upright and fair
 Integrity: adherence to moral
and ethical principles; soundness
of moral character; honesty


Trust: Reliance on the integrity,
strength, and ability of a person;
confidence


In business, more trusted people obtain
promotions and are chosen for more
important projects
In relationships, trusted people make
better friends
Ethical: pertaining to or dealing
with morals or the principles of
morality; pertaining to right and
wrong in conduct
 Unethical: lacking moral principles;
unwilling to adhere to proper rules
of conduct

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Identify the ethical issue or problem.
List the facts that have the most bearing on the decision.
Identify anyone who might be affected by your decision and
how.
Explain what each affected person would want you to do about
the issue.
List three alternative actions and identify the best and worst
case scenario for each alternative, anyone who would be
harmed by this choice (and how), any values that would be
compromised by selecting this alternative, and any automatic
reasons why this alternative should not be selected (legal
issues, rules, etc.).
Determine a course of action.

How do the goals of personal
communication relate to the
goals in marketing?