Part I: How to Work in Guatemala

Guatemala is a land of mystery and myth.

The mystery of ancient Mayans circles the world, while most Americans believe that the stereotypical myth of only “chaos and contradiction” accurately describes Guatemalan society. (I.e. slow moving, slow thinking (?), drug invested, back ward, and so on and so forth.

Meanings from such words stem from the US values to a given culture;like Guatemala. While these things exist in Guatemala, it is also so much more.These stereotypical “ethnocentrism” words refer to the USA thinking its culture values are superior, and therefore Guatemala culture values are automatically inferior. This is not the case.

How to Avoid Confused Intercultural Communication

Whereas corruption does exist in Guatemala, chaos does not reign, and contradiction comes from confused inter cultural communication resulting from the “out-siders” not being in the “in-group.”

One needs “tools for their tool box” to effectively communicate in this culture to “get the job done.” So for anyone outside of this culture, who wants to work in Guatemala, and become an effective intercultural communicator, we must become mindful of different communication characteristics than our own; and of the communication process itself.

If it's to Be - It's up to me...

It is up to all of us - through mindful focusing, to recognize how our ethnocentric thinking, due to our cultural identity, along with symbolic exchanges (verbal and non verbal seeking shared meanings), process (meaning the interdependent nature of the “intercultural” encounter) cultural communities, negotiated shared meanings, interactive situations as well as language,etc., will affect our intercultural communication.

To be effective inter cultural communicators - we simply need to pay attention to what role we play in these interactions. It sounds like a lot of work. It's not.

The “sender and the receiver” of information, need to be on the same page in order to find common ground and to obtain effective results in business transactions.

In other words, we need to see things through the lenses of the Guatemalan perspective; finding fresh insights and new ways of really listening to others of this culture. This helps us increase our world vision to develop successful business.

How to Reduce Mis-communication

To be effective and reduce mis-communication for Guatemalan business, any of us who are not fluent in Spanish, need to brush up on our Spanish language skills! (Especially since Spanish is the official language of Guatemala and over 40% of the people speak twenty-three Indian dialects along with some Spanish. Note: Only in the biggest cities, will English be spoken).

Population, Poverty and Perception

With a population of 13.9 million, this tightly knit society has a distribution of income that remains highly unequal, with perhaps 75% of the population below the poverty line.

“Since the stranger’s interpersonal relationship with others in the guest culture is characterized by social distance” (Simmel), anyone from the USA could possibly be perceived as a representative of only “rich Americans,” to the people needed to interact and work with.

By the way, by drawing on "identity negotiations theories," we help Guatemalans with their feeling of “being understood” – and that, in intercultural business, is key.

Verbal and non-verbal communication styles...

It is also imperative...

...that we show through verbal and non verbal communication that we respect the people we work with, as well as that we recognize, acknowledge and endorse the Guatemalans cultural way of doing business. (How? Through eye contact, smiling, practicing culture-sensitive paraphrasing skills by restating the content meaning in our own words, showing interest in their hobbies, etc.)

Our responsibility...

...as effective communicators - is to step back in “mindful value comparison” of our culture with Guatemala's. This helps us take critical steps in our understanding of Guatemala's cultural background so we take nothing for granted, by mistakenly projecting our beliefs, attitudes, and expectations onto theirs.

Remind yourself that you stand present in the here and now; and that Guatemalan promises made yesterday, were made yesterday. Every one needs to purse yesterdays promises as a brand new idea, right here, right now, today; to get the results we seek in our business endeavors for tomorrow.

Be flexible;and become a student of Guatemala's business culture; for as much as you are their teacher for your products and services, they are your teacher too.The results you seek will come more quickly; and the business relationships and personal friendships you create through your understanding and participation in effective inter culture communication, will transcend a lifetime.

Attitudes and Expectations...

For example: As a person who was exposed to Spanish speaking cultures in a limited way, I (as most of us outside Spanish speaking world cultures) I had to review my ethnocentric world view. So do you. So my world view held the stereotype that most Guatemalans (being Spanish speaking) were Catholic. No longer true.

Did You Know?

According to, “How to Do Business in 60 Countries,” by Terry Morrison, Wayne A. Conaway and George H. Borden, Ph. D, Evangelical Protestantism has made the largest number of converts among the traditional Catholic population. About 25% of people are now Protestant, and much of the ruling elite “embrace” the prosperity theology.

This thinking implies...

...those Guatemalans who are indigent are so because they “lack faith,” and, business people from outside the culture must expect such beliefs to be overtly stated among Guatemalan business people.

Remember, only about 1% of the population of Guatemala is wealthy by USA standards, but they are the business leaders,movers and shakers - who are influencing their country (and directly affects how any one does business in Guatemala).

Why is this important to be aware of?

Since business done among Guatemalans tends to occur only after positive relationships have been established, every one needs to be aware - of the value system of the ruling class; and that it is very different from that of the indigenous Indians (it’s estimated that more than 70% of Guatemalans - are Indians).

So be aware of what are of the population your business is geared too.

Look for our Blog entitled: Part II: How to Work in Guatemala. Discover, How to Increase your Knowledge Base - for doing Business in Guatemala.