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THE LATEST MAILING TO OUR MEMBERS & SUPPORTERS

 

JANUARY 16TH, 2003

THE BUSINESS FORUM - CLASS, GOOD MANNERS & STRANGE TRADITIONS

Since writing the Etiquette piece I have received an unbelievable number of emails requesting information, or my opinion, on everything from a lady asking if it was all right to wear a pant suit to a funeral, to what I knew about "doing business with Arabs and what actions to avoid so as not to appear rude".

To be honest a few of the requests I had absolutely no knowledge about (i.e.: should I belch to show I enjoyed the food after a business meal in China) - so over time I have been requesting answers from people who might know - and then I realized how many times in the past I have been worried about such things when I visited a foreign country for the first time - come to that, when I attended a function in America I had not been to before, I often wondered what the right "form" would be so I would not be taken for a fool or a low-life.  Therefore, as we have email hits from everywhere in the world, I thought I would ask the expert - that being YOU!

Any tradition, reaction to, or necessary-to-know facts I might not know when I interact with someone not from my culture, I would be happy to include.  If I were to visit Calcutta (or for that matter Chicago) what should I know so that I would not make a fool of myself or insult my host.

If all of you were to think of just one fact of good manners or tradition from your country or culture I should know - PLEASE SEND IT TO ME.

Kindest regards:

John

  [email protected]

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Kindest regards:

John Hathaway-Bates

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John H. Hathaway-Bates
President & Executive Director
bizforum.org.inc.
9297 Burton Way, Suite 1
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Telephone: 310-550-1984
Fax: 310-550-6121
Email: [email protected]

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