Cultural Dos and Don'ts

To put it briefly, the importance of cultural etiquette is the difference between comprehending and offending. Regardless if you are traveling abroad on business or pleasure, or if you are visiting someone from another culture in person, or over Zoom, you are meeting them where they live and within their cultural norms. You are the foreigner. We often think that the rest of the world sees, thinks and acts as we do, but that is far from reality. Many of the definitions of "right" and "wrong" are strictly cultural.

As important as it is to try to understand other cultures and act accordingly, it is even more important to always be courteous and respectful of those whom we encounter. We will never be perfect and we will never know all the dos and don'ts of other cultures, but trying to learn and undesratnd them shows a lot of respect, which goes a long way in any society. I have visited over 30 different countries with very diverse cultures and I have found that wherever I go, people show you leniency if they see you are trying to be respectful of them and their culture.

Besides, what is and isn't acceptable in diverse cultures is quite interisting and a good topic for conversation. So, enjoy!