According to the anthropologist Edward T. Hall (Columbia University, USA), there are two types of communication cultures:

• high-context culture, which is subtle and works a lot with connotations (Arab and Asian countries)
• low-context culture requires its speakers to be direct (USA, UK and others)

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the latter. Take a look at our guides to low-context culture here (corporate edition) and here (investment edition).

– speech is direct and explicit

– context is a supporting message. The gist can be understood literally

– less reliance on cultural context due to the “melting pot” nature of their countries

Greeting: Use “hello” in the first letter. “Hi” is more acceptable later, after the dialogue partners have got to know each other. Americans tend to start their letter with “Hi”.

➕ It is common among Russian speakers to use exclamation marks in a positive context. For example: “Hello!”, “Dear Kate!”.

➕ Titles are not abbreviated in British English, so it’s fine to write Mr Smith and Mrs Smith. In American English we should put points after their titles: Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Not much of a difference but nice to know.

Western culture has invented something called an elevator pitch: a business one-liner that can sell your product to an investor in 30 or 60 seconds. The Enterprise Europe Network (set up by the EU for SMEs) has put together five tips for pitching to European investors. (also apply to Americans).

1. Get straight to the point

• don’t give too much detail, speak in a simple manner
• talk energetically
• demonstrate your vision of future on specific examples (with numbers).

2. Present a strict timeline

• it should be tight but with a little flexibility
• demonstrate which objectives you’re going to reach by when.

3. Don’t act very modestly

• you have to be ambitious when talking about expected sales
• be honest and show a plan to gain ideally at least 25% of profitability.

4. Prepare specific exit and reward strategy

• answer in advance questions about when and how can an investor exit your project
• show your investor that you’re flexible and ready for any turn of events.

5. Practice your pitch with somebody who isn’t your friend

• the person who helps you practice should be impartial so their feedback won’t be very biased
• keep in mind that you have to convince an investor to believe in your market, management, technology and business approach.

note: it’s very important to be direct in a pitch.

Before negotiations you may refer to this culture comparison map based on research by Erin Meyer, a professor of management practice in the Organizational Behavior department at INSEAD. A few important highlights from the map:

• Americans and British are more strongly focused on deadlines and working step-by-step than others.
• Emirati gravitate toward top-down decision making (which are made by the boss rather than by a group)
• Trusting relationships with Emiratis are more likely to be built slowly during personal time over the long term. While with Americans trust is gained through business-related activities: consistent and reliable work = trust

When doing business in the multicultural space, one always has to keep track of important celebrations that might hinder the speed of communication.

Find out which accelerators and incubators are available in the UAE and how you can apply in our guide.