KISS, BOW, OR SHAKE HANDS:

KISS, BOW, OR SHAKE HANDS: How to Do Business in 12 Asian Countries by Terri Morrison and Wayne Conway


[China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.]


When I taught a World Literature/Religions class, students from different cultures registered for my class. We read holy books, epics, and great works from many different culture and historical periods : African,Sumerian, Greek, Roman, Indian, Persian, Arabic, Chinese, and Japanese literature.


To increase awareness of the attitudes, cultural practices, etiquette, and the importance of communication in different cultures, I planned activities in which students could interact and understand cultural values as well as the importance of appropriate interactions.


Although this book was written for the business world,  I used examples from KISS, BOW, OR SHAKE HANDS to impress upon students what to know before they visited Asia and  other resources they could use when visiting other countries.


This text contains cultural I.Q. tests, "Know Before You Go" tips, and alerts on national security issues.


Topics in each chapter include Your Cultural I.Q.; Country Background, Demographics, History, Language, Cultural Orientation, Protcol [ greetings, form of address, gestures, gifts, dress.


For example------VIET NAM

• Greeting; slight bow with hands clasped together at the waist or handshake
• Introduce yourself. It is not traditional for Vietnamese to introduce themselves.
• Good topics of conversation: sports, travel, food, and music
• if a Vietnamese superstition is discussed, take it seriously.
• Vietnamese names are written in this order; surname, followed by two given names.
• Extended public contact between the sexes is frowned upon.
• The foot is considered unclean by many Vietnamese. Do not move anything with your feet or touch anything with your feet except the ground.
• Do not show the soles of your feet or shoes.
• Among Vietnamese Muslims, the left hand is considered unclean.
• To beckon someone hold your hand out, palm downward, and make a scooping motion with the fingers.
• Wagging your finger would be considered an insult.

FROMMER'S and FODOR'S travel guides are more up to date; however, the point of this lesson was to help students realize that we exist in a global society, and it is important to understand, respect,  and communicate in a cultural context with people from other countries.