Ghana

Greetings

Men greeting Men – A handshake with the right hand is the most common form of greeting. Handshakes are often combined with a snap on the release for those who are friends. Handshakes tend to linger a bit. If greeting an elder or tribal chief, it’s best to wait for them to extend a hand, if at all.

Women greeting Women - A handshake with the right hand is the most common form of greeting. Verbal greetings tend to be acceptable as well.

Men and Women – A handshake with the right hand is the most common form of greeting. A verbal greeting or nod of acknowledgment is acceptable as well.

Note: It is considered rude not to acknowledge someone; therefore, verbal greetings are very important in the Ghanaian culture. For example, “good morning”, “good afternoon”, or “good evening” are phrases you should find yourself repeating all day long. If you can do it in the local language, you will score big point by the locals. Ghanaian culture is very friendly, tolerant and welcoming of foreigners and foreigners in general can act as themselves and are not usually bound by the expectations Ghanaians place on each other, but a general rule of politeness will go a long way.

Communication Style

• People tend to be direct, but polite, in many situations. For example, the compliment, “you look fat today”, is common and should be taken as a positive remark. However, it’s generally not polite to directly ask for something, therefore requests may be implied.
• If someone is asking you to buy something from them, saying “thank you” is the same as saying “no thank you” and is generally very affective and considered polite.

• Safe topics of conversations include family, work, hometown, and sports. It’s best to avoid speaking about politics at a initial meetings.

Personal Space & Touch

• In general, the appropriate amount of personal space when speaking is about an arm's length.
• It is common see men standing or walking together holding hands. This is a sign of friendship. Not too often do you see women or men and women doing the same.
• If you are seen walking with someone of the same gender, you may be considered to be their good friend.
• If you are seen walking with a woman on a regular basis, you will most likely be considered to be dating that person.

• It is generally inappropriate for men and women to show too much physical affection in public. The same goes for good friends and family members of different genders.

• Between friends and family members of the same gender, there is a bit more touching during conversations.

• While Ghanaians are very friendly, too much outward physical expression may be considered embarrassing, inappropriate, and/or disrespectful.

Eye Contact

• Direct eye contact is generally acceptable between members of the same age, gender, and social class. However, overly direct eye contact may be viewed as rude and possibly a threat.
• When speaking with an elder or superior, it is best to avoid direct eye contact.
• Children don’t generally look elders in the eye, and very few people are allowed to (or are expected to) look a village chief or respected elder in the eye when speaking to them.
• Some women may avoid looking at men’s eyes during conversations, but not all the time.

Gestures

• To beckon someone, you would raise the palm of your hand toward them, and then fold the fingers down in a scratching motion. To people from the USA, this may be seen as a wave, but to Ghanaians, this means “come here”.
• A hissing sound is used to get someone’s attention. This should only be used in certain situations, otherwise it may be considered rude. For example, if you are eating at a restaurant and you want to get the server’s attention, you may hiss at them. Someone also may hiss at you on the street to get your attention, such as a street vendor who wants to sell you something.
• The kissing sound has is often used to mean “watch out”. For example, if you are walking on a crowded sidewalk and a bicyclist is approaching from behind and there is not much room, you may be warned by the biker to “watch out” by a kissing sound.

Views of Time

• Timeliness is a big issue Ghanaians are generally aware that it is an issue. Sometime they even poke fun at themselves or other fellow Ghanaians in regards to the lack of awareness of time.
• Ghanaians are known to be late to meetings, up to 2 or more hours late is common. People usually just wait.
• The country has started a television advertising campaign to encourage timeliness, but as in many developing countries, many people don’t have televisions.
• The major bus lines are generally on time.
• The issue of timeliness doesn’t necessarily improve in business situations, but in the larger cities, you will usually see much more punctuality and awareness of time versus smaller towns and villages.
• To help understand this issue of tardiness it helps to know some reasons why people are late. Living without the means of modern conveniences (dishwashers, washer and driers, piped water, cars, etc) makes it much more difficult to plan you day. For example, one may get up and wash the family’s clothes by hand before doing anything else. Or the meeting may be far away and since most Ghanaians don’t have vehicles, they have to rely on public transportation to get places and public transportation is very unreliable.

Gender Roles

• In the larger cities such at Accra, Tacoradi/Secondi, and Kumasi, women’s roles are becoming more like their counterparts in the Western world. Many own businesses, speak up in public, etc.
• Traditionally, a woman’s role has been seen as submissive towards men. They are expected to stay home with the children, gather firewood, fetch water, cook dinner and clean. The traditional role is seen more in the rural areas.
• Roles tend to be changing and it is becoming more accepted everywhere for women to take on stronger roles.
• Westerners or foreigners in general can act as themselves and are not usually bound by the expectations the locals place on themselves.
• Women should avoid wearing clothes that are too revealing or tight fitting. Wearing skimpy clothing will non-verbally tell men that you may be promiscuous and will most likely solicit unwanted attention.

Taboos

• Using your right hand to shake, touch, eat food with, or handle money (or anything else) is a must. Using the left hand for these things is considered rude and dirty.
• Holding the hand in a fist with the thumb to the sky, then pressing the thumb to the forefinger is an extremely rude gesture. It means something like, “your mother is a prostitute.”
• Pointing at people tends to be considered rude. Instead, many people purse their lips in the direction of the person to which they are referring.

• The thumb’s up sign is a rude gesture.

Law & Order

• The legal drinking age is 18 and while drinking and smoking certainly occur, the behavior is not widely accepted and being drunk in public will most likely be frowned upon.
• Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines.

Dress

• Ghanaians generally like to dress well. They are proud people and enjoy looking good.
• For Men- The most acceptable clothing options are nice pants, a collared shirt, and a tie. In many situations a tie is not needed. Some foreigners are seen wearing shorts, but you don’t see many locals wearing them. Shorts are generally viewed as something school children sport.
• For Women- Conservative dresses, skirts, or pants and blouses are acceptable. Avoid clothes that are too revealing or tight fitting. Short skirts and thin strapped tops should be avoided. Wearing skimpy clothing will non-verbally tell men that you may be promiscuous and will most likely solicit unwanted attention.

Titles & Business Cards

• It is very common to address people by “Sir” or “Madame” if you do or do not know them. If you do know the person, it’s also accepted to call them Mister (plus their first or last name) or Madame (plus first or last name). If they are a peer you can usually call them by first name, but if they are older, then using Mister or Madame plus their name is respectful.
• Calling someone by the title of their profession is also acceptable. For example, the driver of a bus can be called “driver”.
• There is no set protocol with the giving and receiving of business cards, but it is always advisable to give and receive cards with the right hand.

Meetings

• It’s best as a foreigner to show up on time for a meeting even though you may end up waiting.
• Some amount of small talk is almost always expected.

Negotiations

• Decisions tend to come from the top down and will most likely take awhile to be reached.
• Expect to bargain for just about everything. Bargaining is a way of life, a way of interaction, and very expected. It is best to “exercise patience” when trying to buy things because negotiating turns in to a necessary part of almost all transactions, especially those in the market.

In the Classroom

• Classrooms in Ghana are very formal. It is expected that you stay quietly when a teacher enters the class. Unless you are authorized by the teacher, you are not supposed to talk in anyway.
• If you refuse to do your homework, you will score zero for it and some teachers may punish you for that.
• Mostly, students remain in their classrooms and teachers switch when classes change, unlike the US and other countries where students move to the teacher's classroom when classes change.