In the framework of the Hanover Trade Fair, conttigo’s Executive Director, Mr. Alejandro Palacios-Tovar, held a workshop on the topic „Making business through the world, intercultural colours and accents“.
Mr. Palacios-Tovar began his presentation with a brief definition of the term „Culture“ before addressing the subject of personal perception, which is crucial for intercultural understanding. He involved the participants, about 20 people from different backgrounds (United States of America, England, France, Poland and Germany), by asking them specific questions, creating a very positive response from the public.
Mr. Palacios-Tovar then talked about the positive and negative aspects of stereotypes, and showed short and funny videos with examples from daily life, which clearly illustrate the concept.
This was followed by a presentation on the different communication styles, in particular the nonverbal and paraverbal forms of communication. Country-specific differences between Western Europe, Latin America and Asia were illustrated by diagrams.
Then Mr. Palacios-Tovar explained the most important rules of business etiquette in Germany, combining once more very useful theoretical information with instructive and at the same time funny and practical examples.
The final subject of the presentation focused on international teamwork and the different reasons why negotiations between people from different cultures usually fail.
After the lecture, participants had the opportunity to ask questions and to share their personal experiences.
As a whole, the atmosphere was very pleasant during the workshop. Participants showed their interest in the topic by listening and answering the questions, as well as getting into personal contact with Mr. Palacios-Tovar after the end of the workshop.
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