Part IV: How to Do Business in Guatemala

Part IV: About Mixing Business and Pleasure…

Business is discussed in an office, or sometimes, over a meal. It is important to remember that, unlike the United States, business is never discussed visiting someone’s home, nor around their family.

Significance of Non-verbal Behavior

Nonverbal behavior has a great impact on people the world over. It’s not just facial expressions and eye contact that tell a story, but our gestures that can get us in inter cultural communication trouble. The following “illustrators” are the nonverbal hand gestures that are used to compliment (or illustrate) the spoken world.
General Overview: What we communicate to others…

Be aware of American Hand Gestures

It is easy to assume that every day socially accepted USA gestures, such as the OKAY sign, (thumb and fore finger making a circle) translate equally to Guatemala society. Not so. In Guatemala this sign is considered, “obscene.” Be sure not to make this sign.

The US “thumbs up” (closed fist, thumb pointing in the air) is also, very, “obscene.” (It is the equivalent of our “middle finger.”) This is another big, No, No.

Guatemala Hand Gestures

Guatemalans have gestures uncommon to us in the US as well. Generally speaking when a Guatemalan wants to call someone over to them, they will extend their arm out (palm side down) and make sort of a sort of scooping motion toward their body (using more of their fingers than the whole wrist). It reminds me a bit of the game where a ball is caught in a scoop.

And when most Guatemalans wave goodbye, they use a gesture that looks like they are fanning themselves. They raise one hand (with their palm toward their body) and wave their fingers back and forth (but with their fingers all together like stuck in a mitten).

This hand wave behavior may seem strange at first, but don’t be surprised when you find yourself doing it in a very short time, as well.