Venezuela

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Appearance

Dress for men is conservative – dark business suits of tropical weight wool.
Fashion is very important to Venezuelan women. Women should pack their best business clothes and one cocktail dress.
People tend to stand very close together when conversing. Venezuelans often touch each other’s arms or jacket during conversation.
Posture while seated is important; avoid slouching.

Behavior

Business people are punctual and small talk is minimal.
It is good practice to follow up morning appointments with an invitation to lunch.
Have business cards printed in English on one side and Spanish on the other. Be sure your position is clearly indicated and present your card immediately following an introduction.
Unlike lunch, dinner is for socializing, not for business.
Businesswomen should be aware that going out alone with Venezuelan businessmen may be misconstrued.
The two senior executives should sit facing each other.
When dining, wait until everyone is served before beginning to eat.
Guests rarely sit at the head of the table.
To indicate you have finished eating, place your utensils in parallel and diagonally across your plate.
An appropriate gift for a man is something for the office - such as a good quality pen. A women would appreciate the gift of an orchid – the national flower.
Guests may bring or send flowers or candy to a hostess.
The senior visiting business person may give a toast offering good wishes for business negotiations, adding a memorized Spanish phrase about the pleasure of being with Venezuelans.

Communications

Handshaking by both sexes common and customary; shake hands on greeting and departing. The handshake is firm.
Good friends hug and women kiss cheeks.
Avoid dominating the conversation. Venezuelans like to be in control.
Titles are important and should be included on business cards. Address a person directly by using his or her title only. A Ph.D.D or a physician is called Doctor. Teachers prefer the title Profesor, engineers go by Ingeniero, architects are Arquitecto, and lawyers are Abogado. Persons who do not have professional titles should be addressed as Mr., Mrs., or Miss, plus their surnames. In Spanish these are:

Most Hispanics have two surnames: one from their father, which is listed first, followed by one from their mother. Only the father’s surname is used when addressing someone.
Good conversation topics: business, art, literature, history.
Bad conversation topics: local unrest, inflation, politics.

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