Czech Republic

Greetings

Man greeting Man - Men shake hands when greeting one another while maintaining direct eye contact. A firm but fairly brief handshake is the norm. With friends, a simple hello or nod of acknowledgment will suffice. Good friends and family may engage in a light hug or exchange pats on the back.

Woman greeting Woman- At a first meeting, a simple hello or nod of acknowledgment will do. In business and more formal situations shaking hands while maintaining direct eye contact is common. Between good friends and family light hugs and exchanging a kiss on each cheek is common.

Greetings between Men & Women- At a first meeting, a simple hello or nod of acknowledgment will do. In business and more formal situations shaking hands while maintaining direct eye contact is common. It’s best to wait for the women to offer her hand first. Good friends and family may engage in a light hug or a kiss on each cheek.

Communication Style

• Czechs tend to favor a more indirect communication style. They may go out of their way to avoid causing anyone embarrassment.
• Responses to direct questions are often vague and non-committal.
• Humor plays a big role in communicating. Dirty jokes are quite common.
• Loud voices during conversations is common.
• People do not tend to speak to one another on public transportation.

Personal Space & Touch

• An arm’s length of personal space is normal when conversing. This distance tends to be greater with strangers and closer with good friends and family.
• There tends to be little to no touching during conversation in business and formal settings.
• In social settings, light touching is acceptable between friends and family. This tends to be less between genders.

Eye Contact

• Direct eye contact is common when conversing. It is expected and appreciated.
• Avoiding eye contact is usually a sign of disrespect, disinterest, and may be considered bad manners or rude.

Gestures

• Raising forefinger: beware!/watch out!
• Pointing with forefinger: showing things, giving directions.
• Wagging the forefinger back and forth: no!
• Raising the hand: asking for a word/attention.
• Moving with your forefinger back and forth while having the palm pointed up – come here

Views of Time

• Being on time is very important in most situations. It’s considered rude to not be on time.
• In social situations, like meeting friends, being 5-10 minutes late is acceptable.
• In business and formal situations, it is a good idea to show up a few minutes early.
• Services like trains, buses, etc. tend to run on time.
• Punctuality is valued and most people covet their time.

Gender Roles

• The man is generally accepted as the head of the family in Czech society.
• The stereotype of the woman staying at home taking care of the family and household, and man earning money for their living is disappearing.
• While chilvary is alive and well, women still earn much less than their male counterparts in the workplace.
• A marriage in a couple is usual, however recently a lot of couples have children without a marriage.

Taboos

• Giving someone the finger is a rude gesture.
• Do not ask about money/salary. This makes people uncomfortable and can be considered rude.
• Gay culture is well accepted and respected in the Czech Republic.
• Racism and xenophobia is widespread and usually aimed against Roma.
• Vietnamese immigrants, usually active in merchandising, are accepted by Czechs and have no negative feelings aimed against them.

Law & Order

• The drinking age 18 years old and not readily enforced. The Czech Republic has the largest consumption of beer per capita in the world.

• There legal smoking age 18 years old. Smoking is discouraged by the government. It is banned in ads and there are higher taxes on tobacco products.

• Penalties for possession of illegal substances are not severe and not regularly enforced. Light drugs are partially accepted by society.
• There are a small number of non-smoking bars, however, the number is growing and it is usually forbidden to smoke in restaurants during lunch time.

Dress

• For Men- A conservative yet stylish suit is acceptable. Darker colors tend to be the norm. White and/or blue shirts with conservative ties are most common.
• For Women: Stylish yet conservative business suits or dresses/pants and blouses are most common in corporate settings.
• Business casual and other less formal attire may be appropriate in certain industries.
• Being well-groomed and having clothes that are nicely pressed is appreciated.

Titles & Business Cards

• It’s best to use a person's title and their surname until invited to use their first name. "Pane" equals Mr., "Paní" equals Mrs.
• There is no specific protocol surrounding the giving and receiving of business cards. It is always best to treat the card with respect.

Meetings

• For meetings it is best to be on time. Being late is looked down upon heavily
• Business meetings tend to begin and end with a bit of small talk.
• It is best to wait for the host to begin and end the business talk.
• Initial meetings are usually used to get to know someone and establish the relationship for possible future meetings.
• Upon first meeting, shake with your right hand firmly while keeping eye contact.
• In the Czech language, different verb suffixes are used for addressing superiors versus friends and family. This is very similar to French tu and vous. Sometimes people will use the first name of a colleague while using the vousexpression. However, when meeting for the first time, use the second name accompanied with Mr. (Pan) or Mrs. (Pani). When talking over the phone, use the vous expression addressing people as Mr. or Mrs.
• After the first interaction, older people may continue using the vous form with Mr. or Mrs., while younger people are more likely to start using first names. However, the use of first names is not as common as in the US.

Negotiations

• While most decisions tend to be made from the top down, the group’s opinion is usually valued and weighed.

• Negotiating tends to be a slow drawn out process. It is best to avoid and high pressure and overly emotive tactics as this will most likely cause embarrassment for both parties.

• Most Czechs prefer an indirect style of communication, so instead of saying “no”, one might here “possibly” or “that may be difficult”.

Gift Giving

• If invited to a Czech home, it is appropriate to bring a gift. Good quality wine or spirits, chocolates and or sweets or something typical from your home country is a good idea.
• When it comes to gifts, it’s best to avoid anything overly expensive or elaborate
• When given a gift, the person un-wraps the gift immediately and thanks the giver for the present.

In the Classroom

• Most universities start at the end of September and end in late May.
• Generally all kinds of dress are acceptable for students. However, for women very provocative (short skirt, deep neckline) clothing may be perceived as impolite and improper.
• Teaching methods depend on the course. Lectures are very common and group work and discussion is popular as well.
• Grades at the university level are given 0-100 with 100 being the highest and 60 being the pass/fail level.
• For oral exams the grading scale is 1 to 4, with 1 being the best.
• At primary schools and colleges the grading scale is 1-5, with 1 being the best and 5 the worst mark.

Other Observations

• Business days: Monday to Friday
Business hours for Czech state-owned companies (such as electricity or gas companies) are 7am - 4pm or 8 am - 5pm while the business hours for corporate companies (usually foreign owned) are 9am - 6 pm.