Brazil

Greetings

Man greeting Man - Men shake hands when greeting one another, while maintaining steady eye contact. At a first meeting a handshake will suffice but it usually lasts slightly longer than the typical North American handshake. Hugging and backslapping are common greetings among Brazilian friends.

Man greeting Woman - If a woman wishes to shake hands with a man, she should extend her hand first. It is common for men and woman to exchange kisses on the cheek when first meeting in social situations. This is often accompanied with a touch on the arm and shoulder. Some Brazilians kiss one cheek, but most kiss two or three times (alternating cheeks).

Woman greeting Woman - Women generally kiss each other, starting with the left cheek and then switching to the right cheek. Some kiss one cheek, but most kiss two or three times (alternating cheeks).

Communication Style

• Communication is often informal and does not rely on strict rules of protocol. Anyone who feels they have something to say will generally add their opinion.
• Brazilians tend to be direct in most situations. This is more common in urban environments versus rural.
• Brazilians communicate easily even with strangers and try to be nice and will help strangers if approached on the street.
• Brazilians speak their minds freely and it is normal to be interrupted. Interrupting others during discussions is considered a sign of enthusiasm. If they say little it is likely because they are not interested in the subject or uncomfortable. However, people in southern cities are more closed and formal, as in the countries of Europe, which had great influence on the colonization in the southern part of Brazil.

Personal Space & Touch

• Light touching and close proximity are construed as signs of general friendship (as opposed to romantic intimacy). There is also a fair amount of touching between man and women and women and women while conversing. This includes hand on shoulders, hand on arms, and hand on hands.
• Brazilians tend to stand much closer to each other than their North American counterparts. Usually one to two feet apart is normal.
  

Eye Contact

• Brazilians favor direct eye contact over indirect. However, service people such as maids, delivery people, repair people, etc., will often avoid eye contact when dealing with people they are serving or working for.
• During conversations sustained eye contact is commonplace rather than intermittent. They associate a steady gaze with sincerity.
• Brazilians tend to look at each other often in public places/situations (on a bus, in the elevator, etc.)

Gestures

• Rubbing the two index fingers of each hand together indicates close friendship between two people.
• Gently pulling the lower eyelid down can indicate "watch out, be careful” or "do you think I'm stupid enough to believe that?"
• Thumbs up means OK, cool, positive, good-luck, thanks, you're cool, I agree. Thumbs down means the opposite.
• Holding your hands in front of your body with your wrists loose and brushing your fingertips across each other means I don't care or I don’t know, depending on the situation.
• Pretending to suck your thumb means that one has been left out or is disappointed.

Views of Time

• Brazilians view time as something flexible. They put more emphasis on people, relationships, and completion of transactions rather than set schedules.
• While the bus, train, and plane schedules are generally adhered to, showing up late to a party or social function is quite common.
• While some North Americans view the Brazilian perception of time and acceptance of tardiness as a lack of caring, many Brazilians wonder why North Americans are more attentive to schedules than to human needs.

Gender Roles

• Work opportunities for women are varied and available depending on social class.
• Women are still expected to do most if not all of the cooking and cleaning.
• Going to local bars and clubs as an unaccompanied woman is not advised.

Taboos

• The inverted American “OK” sign is an obscene gesture. Click here to view.
• Making a fist with one hand and slapping the top of it with the other once or twice means screw you and "I got screwed" or "I screwed up". Click here to view.
• At weddings, the rule is to avoid getting dressed in white, this color is used only for the bride.
• Purple lipstick color is avoided because it is related to funerals. But the color purple (not for flowers) is well accepted and common for both clothing and accessories.

Law & Order

• The legal drinking age is 18, but it is not heavily enforced.
• The legal smoking age is 18 but it is not enforced at all. Cigarettes and cigars are readily available.
• Being in possession of small quantities of drugs will be subject to fines and/or alternative penalties such as community service or drug treatment. However, a foreigner could be deported or sent to jail depending on the situation. If you are caught trying to take drugs in or out of the country, it is an automatic jail sentence.

Dress

• Brazilians pride themselves on dressing well.
• For Men - Wear conservative, dark colored business suits. Three-piece suits typically indicate that someone is an executive.
• For Women - Wear suits or dresses that are elegant and feminine with good quality accessories. Manicures are expected.
• Jeans are often unacceptable as they are considered too casual, however this depends on the industry.
• Brazilian women tend to dress sensually only at parties, and also in colleges, but in corporate environments formal dress required. Business women who dress too sexily are not taken seriously. However, dressing well is very important among Brazilians and how others dress and behave may be commented upon among friends.

Titles & Business Cards

• The use of titles is tricky as they depend on hierarchy, age and other factors. The safest option is to respond to your counterpart in the manner they address you (i.e. if you are called Mr. or Ms., you should also address them as Mr. or Ms.).
• Business cards are exchanged during introductions with everyone at a meeting.
• It is advisable, although not required, to have the other side of your business card translated into Portuguese. Present your business card with the Portuguese side facing the recipient.

Meetings

• It is best to allow for a good amount of small talk before speaking about business.
• It is always best to turn up on time, especially if you are the one seeking the goods and/or services from a Brazilian counterpart.
• Interrupting someone who is speaking is common behavior.
• Avoid confrontations. It is best not to appear frustrated with your Brazilian colleagues
• Brazilian women tend to dress sensually at parties as well as in college settings, but in corporate environments, formal dress required. Business women who dress sexy are not taken seriously. Dressing well is very important among Brazilians and how others dress is a common topic of conversation.
• Brazilian communicate easily with strangers and will approach strangers on the street.
• Brazilians express their opinions freely. It is normal to be interrupted and to interrupt others during discussions. This is not considered rude, but rather indicates enthusiasm. If one says little they are seen as not interested in the subject or as uncomfortable. However, people in southern cities are more closed and formal in conversation than people in the north.

Negotiations

• Final decisions come down to chemistry. Remain cool and professional; avoid any sort of confrontation and do not resort to hard sell tactics.
• Brazilians take time when negotiating. Do not rush them or appear impatient. Expect a great deal of time to be spent reviewing details.
• Use local lawyers and accountants for negotiations. Brazilians may resent an outside legal presence.

Gift Giving

• Giving a gift is not necessary during a first business meeting.
• Avoid giving anything purple or black as these are mourning colors.
• Gifts of knives, scissors, or letter openers are interpreted as the severing of a close bond. Handkerchiefs are also associated with funerals, so avoid giving them.
• Avoid practical gifts, since they may be perceived as too personal. For example, avoid wallets, key chains, ties, sunglasses, jewelry and perfume
• Do not give anything that is very expensive. Your generosity will only cause embarrassment or be misinterpreted as a bribe.
• Gifts are usually opened when received.
• Whisky, chocolates, flowers, good wine, music CDs and DVDs, movie DVDs and photo albums are good gifts, but to give at all there must be some intimacy, not necessarily a big intimacy, you must be well known to the person.
• If you have never talked to before, flowers (not black or purple) and chocolates are recommended.
• It is not recommended to give very personal clothing and accessories or jewelry unless you have great intimacy or have a vested interest and strong and visible link to the person.
• It is also not recommended to give a gift at every visit. Gifts for people you do not know well are acceptable on birthdays or when you are invited to a formal dinner.
• Close friends do not usually exchange gifts often and if you do that you may be seen as selfish or exaggerated, and summon people to visit, it is not necessary to mark in advance, just to combine.
• For Brazilians, it is not necessary to be close to go in someone's home
• At social events, formal or not, it is necessary when arriving and departing to acknowledge all present, even if you do not know the attendees well. Greeting strangers is viewed as odd. Ignoring someone is seen as rude.
• It is common for men and women to kiss on the cheek. Between women, up to three kisses on alternating cheeks is acceptable if the women are not married. Between men only a handshake is acceptable.
• Shaking hands with women is considered cold, unless she initiates the handshake.
• The act of "kissing the cheek" is really just touching one's cheek to another. The kiss a cheek with one's lips is considered very intimate.

In the Classroom

• Lectures are the most common teaching method used in Brazil —it is the only method at many universities.
• It is commonplace for students to take down everything the professor says and then use their notes when tests are given. This method is just starting to change.
• Students are required to attend at least 75 percent of the classes for an individual course in order to be eligible for the final exam.
• For grades, several institutions use a 0-10 scale (with 10 being the highest). Some may use letter scales, similar to those found in the.
• Dress at most schools is casual. Students usually wear slacks or nice jeans.

Other Observations

• It is normal in Brazil to kiss more than one person at a party. This behavior is referred to as "cultura de ficar." Such activity does not neccesarily carry over into a relationship outside of the party.
• Parties are common only on weekends. Colleagues or students tend to gather at the end of the work day or after classes to drink, smoke or go to bars, but this is not required.

• In Brazil, at weddings, the rule is to avoid wearing white as this color is worn only by the bride.
• Purple lipstick color is avoided because it is related to funerals.
• But the color purple (not for flowers) is well accepted and common for both clothing and accessories.
• Brazilians do not like to be called "Latins."