Across-the-table manners

Like software firm Wipro does through Gulliver’s Diary, its online log of travel experiences. Sample a typical entry: ‘‘When you see a photograph on a colleague’s desk (in US/Europe), resist the temptation to ask ‘Who is that?’ like we do here. Wait for the other person to tell you, if they want to.’’

Software training company NIIT Technologies, which has 100 centres in China and has been doing business there for the last seven years, will never serve visiting delegations Chinese food again.

The company once ordered a spread from the best Chinese restaurant in Delhi. After the lunch, the head of the visiting delegation, through his interpreter, thanked NIIT for a wonderful meal of Indian curry.

More lessons from that part of the world? ‘‘When you’re with a Chinese delegation, the soup must be served hot and at the end of a meal,’’ says Sanjeev Kataria, a vice-president at NIIT. ‘‘Only speak to the head of the delegation, and always pack any gift you give,’’ he adds.

At Maruti, thanks to their partner Suzuki, they’ve got the Japanese way down to a fine art. So if you’re in Tokyo and you want to get some work done, the first thing you do is invite the person over for a meal.

During the meal, you discuss the kids, the weather, anything except work. Only when it is time to bring the outing to a conclusion, do you ask for a business appointment on the following day.

‘‘If you get one, consider your work done,’’ says a company official who travels to Japan regularly. The little things go a long way too. Susir Kumar, CEO of Intelenet Global Services, a Mumbai-based BPO outfit, always makes sure that the blend of coffee or tea served in the boardroom is from his client’s home country.

Sometimes, it’s as simple as wearing a particular colour—or avoiding it completely.

At Patni Computers, one of India’s oldest software companies, they prefer not to wear brown in the UK. Says an official, ‘‘Brown is considered a very ‘old’ colour there so we make it a point to avoid that.’’

Pradeep Mukim, head of sales at shirt maker Arrow, makes sure that he’s clad in subtle blues or greys when he meets clients from the Middle East.

And everyone in corporate India has their own brand of communication, too.

‘‘For European clients, we have to be very careful about the way we speak,’’ says PN Shah, a Vice-President at Mahindra & Mahindra. ‘‘We talk softly, almost like narrating a story to a small boy, and we never look them directly in the eye. That might offend them.’’