Spain-Checklist

Alexia & Stephan Petersen – English Communication for ProfessionalsEnabling you to communicate across culturesIntercultural Communication ChecklistsSpainIntercultural Communication • Interpersonal / Intergroup Skills • Advanced English TrainingIm Mittelfeld 97 • 52074 Aachen • Germany • info@ • [Author's note: This text is written from the perspective of German communication behaviour, which is alsoprevalent in varying degrees in other Northern European cultures. Therefore, depending on where you're from,some of the points made, in particular in the checklists, may not readily apply to your situation.]The checklists below are meant to guide you to a smoother, more communicative interaction withSpaniards. However, these lists are the products of intercultural communication competency and not anend in itself. Knowing how to communicate effectively with other cultures follows from understanding whythey behave the way they do. Our approach is to provide you with a framework of cultural core valueswhich impact behaviour and communication styles in the Spanish culture (and other cultures with similarcore concepts) at the national level. This knowledge is the foundation for developing those skills necessaryto bridge communication gaps between cultures where the distance between two sets of culturalassumptions is the greatest. Our aim is to enable readers to develop intercultural communication skills to apoint where they can eventually create their own checklists. That is why, in addition to the standard Do’s,Don’ts and Be Aware lists, and a compilation of small talk topics, we provide a more vital 5th list ofguidelines to help readers to actively apply the intercultural communication “vocabulary”. Against a solidframework of knowledge, this is effective “learning by doing”.Before reading these checklists, make sure you readthe terms and conditions that apply when you are using the information provided(/terms_),the article on Spain itself (/countries_), andthe introduction to our country-specific articles (/countries_).Points to ’t aim to plan everything 100% perfectly. What the Spanish value is how you reactwhen unforeseeable conditions arise. The effort spent on building the personalrelationship invests in a mutual trust that safeguards everyone’s “face” in trickysituations. Expect delivery dates, schedules, budgets, forecasts to be only approximationsand rough guides for action. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? The sign ofcompetent leadership is courage (valiente) and how one responds to the ’t go into initial meetings with a fixed agenda and points ready to be ticked off. Beprepared to do more socialising during business than you consider “normal” orbeneficial. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is all a “waste of time”: your bodylanguage can break any potential deals! don’t win points with Spaniards by pursuing a discussion based on who istechnically correct and incorrect, or who is at fault and who is not. The quality of therelationship and one’s obligations to it are more important.- 1 -Copyright © 2002, Alexia & Stephan Petersen – English Communication for Professionals ()Enabling you to communicate across culturesAll rights reserved. For personal use only. Reproduction and distribution in any form, also in parts, requires the express written permissionof the authors. By using this text you agree to the following terms and conditions: /terms_

talking about business or giving detailed descriptions of your job/current projects,etc., once you and your colleagues have moved out of the business environment. Ifsomeone asks, keep it short and sweet. Social occasions are not an extension of thebusiness day. No one is that interested in all the details! Remember: they are moreinterested in to be aware contrast to German meetings, Spanish meetings are often not for decision-making butabout exchanging opinions and collecting information, and for strengtheninginterpersonal relationships. In fact, important decisions can often be made at the casualdinner aware of how you express criticisms and complaints or even a strong er that everything you say to a person from a relationship-oriented culture isreceived in an interpersonal context. Criticisms and complaints, even if expressedneutrally for you (e.g. fact-based and technical) can actually sound harsh and cold andgive personal aware that if you ever reach a point where you feel the need to qualify your bluntactions or words (e.g. “Please don’t take it personally”), you have likely already gonetoo far and from then on you should focus on damage , in contrast to Germans, Spaniards value an openness to risk-taking; courage andrisk-taking are valued as leadership qualities. There is a strong temperamental aversionto forecasting and planning, especially to grandiose schemes based on in-depth can affect the quality of joint ventures with long-term that even on formal business occasions manners can be based on an easy andrelaxed informality; remember that familiarity and a quality of a relationship based ontrust are highly valued. Be circumspect, see what others do! aware of going too far by pursuing arguments or points on purely technical groundsbecause a) the interpersonal element is valued over the technical truth, and b) a degree ofmodesty (modesto) is valued over aware that time is less linear and compartmentalised into units (monochronic), butmore flexible and overlapping (polychronic) to serve a purpose or aware that, like the Chinese and Japanese (!), losing and giving “face” is an importantvalue in building interpersonal relationships. Unlike the Asians, however, the Spaniardmay react with visible touchiness and sensitivity when they feel their personal dignity andpoint of honour (pundonor) have been to making criticisms or expressing personal wishes, use a softer tone than you wouldin you are asked personal questions (e.g. family, personal experiences) take that as a cuethat these topics are favourable small talk prepared to „small“ talk more than you think is necessary. Understand the function- 2 -Copyright © 2002, Alexia & Stephan Petersen – English Communication for Professionals ()Enabling you to communicate across culturesAll rights reserved. For personal use only. Reproduction and distribution in any form, also in parts, requires the express written permissionof the authors. By using this text you agree to the following terms and conditions: /terms_

that it serves in the culture.4.“Business is personal”: in Spain, be prepared to work hard for it to be more personal;business will come prepared to cope with a much higher degree of improvisation compared to what youmay expect in Germany. A businessman’s or manager’s reputation is build on how heacts and reacts under unpredictable prepared to be less perfect, but more prepared to offer to treat your colleagues more often than you would considernecessary in Germany, inside and outside of company time; sometimes you need to letthe needs of a relationship cue what you should do, even when the rules say you don’thave least show interest in and appreciation for the personal well-being of those close toSpanish colleagues, and be prepared to receive likewise from them with to who your colleagues mention during “small talk” (e.g. family members, mutualacquaintances) and remember to inquire after them next time you try to “feel out” mutual acquaintances and connections with Spanish colleagues; donot be afraid to ask. Expect much time during social occasions to be spent discoveringwho you know in connection to someone else. Good references from trusted connectionsspeak more for an individual than only technical competence and ability. The bestreference you can give about another person is “he’s a good friend of mine”.Small Talk TopicsSymbols: very good topic, good topic, avoid topic, bad and mutual acquaintances (Much effort is made by Spaniards to establish someform of personal connection through mutual acquaintances. Much time is spent at thebeginning of a new relationship feeling out each other’s “references”. Since in Spainbusiness relationships reflect a greater degree of personal trust and friendship, thetrustworthiness of even a friend of a friend can be relied on and transferred through yourfriend to you, and vice versa. The most reliable reference you can receive about anyonefrom any contact, therefore, is that “he is a good friend of mine“.)Travel, leisure, holidays (Be aware, however, of giving minutely detailed descriptionsof your holidays. No one is that interested in a monologue. Make sure you at least ask asmany questions as you answer! Keep it anecdotal and positive in tone, and keep in mind tostress common experiences where you can. It strengthens the bond you are aiming toestablish with your colleague.)Sport (As in Brazil, football’s importance extends beyond sport. In a country dividedby regional loyalties, football is relatively neutral ground. Following football and attendingmajor football matches is considered to be almost a social obligation, with most malesbelonging to a football club. Many larger companies have access to tickets for major eventsand corporate entertainment can include attending football matches. Even the mostdisinterested foreign business associate would be well-advised to go along with the with many social events in Spain, participation is usually more important than one’stechnical interest in an event.)- 3 -Copyright © 2002, Alexia & Stephan Petersen – English Communication for Professionals ()Enabling you to communicate across culturesAll rights reserved. For personal use only. Reproduction and distribution in any form, also in parts, requires the express written permissionof the authors. By using this text you agree to the following terms and conditions: /terms_

Politics, current events and scandalsWine and foodJob or profession (As Spanish social events provide the time and place to cultivatepersonal relationships, jobs or details of one’s profession are not immediately the first topicsof conversation. If asked at all, answers are kept general and short. Talking shop belongs atthe office!)Money (Salary, cost of personal possessions)Problems and difficulties (Avoid focussing on problems and complaints in explicitdetail and dwelling on then too long. The German habit of first detailing what is wrong, notpossible, or unfavourable, be it regarding the weather or in response to a greeting, oftenprovokes uncertainty in members of relationship-oriented cultures. This leaves the other notknowing how to react to what sounds like bad news. In other, highly group-orientedcultures that prioritise group harmony, this can even cause considerable psychologicalstress. To yet other cultures that tend to stress the positive or doable, this may sound likenegativism and complaining, and in turn boring or inappropriate.)Becoming interculturally previous (or typical) cross-cultural experience(s) have you had with Spaniardswhere you did not initially consider the problem to be one of interculturalcommunication? Can you now re-evaluate the experience in an interculturalcommunication framework? How would you now act/react in the same situation? you identify other cultures that may exhibit similar behaviour or communicationstyles as the Spanish, though for (slightly) different reasons at the core level of values? you imagine other situations where the Spanish may take what is said or done as aserious personal insult, but you consider normal? How do you think they will react? other aspects of Spanish communication style and behaviour have you hadexperience with? What cultural values do you think are at the core?

are the German values of these same concepts, and how do they manifestthemselves in German communication style and behaviour?e the areas of greatest difference between the German and Spanish values systemsand predict the most likely situations of misunderstandings you can expect to encounterin your professional field.- 4 -Copyright © 2002, Alexia & Stephan Petersen – English Communication for Professionals ()Enabling you to communicate across culturesAll rights reserved. For personal use only. Reproduction and distribution in any form, also in parts, requires the express written permissionof the authors. By using this text you agree to the following terms and conditions: /terms_