Cultural Information and Protocol
Why Culture Matters
All people like to be treated with respect. But how is respect shown? Is it by looking someone in the eye? Shaking hands when you greet? Standing about an arm's length away when you speak "face to face"? Saying "no" fairly directly when you cannot fulfill a request? While these behaviors may seem second nature to you, they may feel like 180 degrees from comfort for your guests. And if making your guests comfortable and at ease means making them "feel at home," you'll want to consider how to make them feel comfortable in a way that reflects their homeand not just yours.
Why So Much Attention to Differences?
Certainly you and your guest have a great deal in common or you would not be investing time and resources into this face-to-face visit. Your mutual interests may include philosophical approaches to research, research goals, or a commitment to international exchange. In addition to these joint interests, you need to acknowledge the potential differences in political structure, academic systems, and daily rituals as well because these can greatly impact how you work together before, during, and after the visit. Of course this does not mean "that every encounter between people from two distinct cultures is automatically going to be more confusing and difficult than encounters between people from the same culture, only that the potential for misunderstanding is almost always greater."¹
Although you will not have time for a full study of your guest's culture, it is helpful to understand some of the general ways cultures can differ so you can be prepared for some of the most common challenges involved in intercultural situations.