Slovakia

Greetings

Man greeting Man –Men shake hands when greeting one another while maintaining direct eye contact. Good friends may include a light hug.

Woman greeting Woman – Light kisses on the cheeks are the most common form of greeting in Slovakia. Often times it is just a light touching of cheeks rather than actual kisses. This form of greeting, however, is reserved for if two women already know each other and are friends. At a first meeting, women generally shake hands.

Greetings between Men & Women – Light kisses on the cheeks are the most common form of greeting for friends and family. Often times it is just a light touching of cheeks rather than actual kisses. At a first meeting a regular handshake will do. It is customary to let the woman offer her hand first.

Note: Children are expected to say hello (dobry den) to adults. Adults are not required to reply. In addition, when joining a group of people, introductions are not necessarily made quickly, and sometimes not at all. People do not smile hello to each other in passing that often. On the street, if you pass someone you are acquainted with, you can say dobry den (with a smile if you like). However, if you only smile, you will get a blank stare in return.

Communication Style

• Generally speaking, Slovaks are quite shy. They tend to be more reserved and speak less until they are more familiar with who they are speaking with.
• Many Slovaks are also very self conscious of themselves when speaking in English to a native speaker of English. They are also appreciative if someone speaks even a few words in Slovak. Knowing even just a few words can get you a long way.

• Slovaks tend to be very polite. Of course it depends on the age, but manners are important. They tend to agree with you (in words) if they don’t in action; therefore you must not always believe everything you hear.

Personal Space & Touch

• An arm's length distance or a bit closer is an appropriate amount of personal space during conversations.
• Given the close nature of the Slovak greeting with kisses, Slovaks are generally more at ease maintaining personal space.

• Slovaks may seem quiet and reserved upon first meeting. However, during subsequent meetings, touching during a conversation is acceptable and considered a sign of affection.

Eye Contact

• Direct eye contact is very important particularly when being introduced to someone.
• Direct eye contact is a sign of honesty and sincerity and should be maintained during the handshake and through the introduction.

Gestures

• You can indicate someone is crazy by making a fist with your right hand, holding it to the side of your head and rotating your hand forward quickly once.

• Slovaks tend to queue up orderly whenever a line is needed with no jumping the queue.

• Be prepared to remove your shoes when entering any home. Usually, slippers are provided. If you are a guest, you will be fed lavishly and encouraged to keep eating/drinking.

• When drinking, it is important to look everyone at the table in the eye as you clink glasses, and say "Nazdravie" (to your health!).

Views of Time

• Though Slovaks are not exactly strict when it comes to adhering to rules about time, they are not too loose with time either. It’s not rude to be late, provided that a person is not too late.
• Socially, if you say to friends that you will meet them at 8pm at a certain location, being no more than 15 minutes late is usually acceptable.
• For business purposes, being on time or a bit early is the norm.
• Public transportation such as trains and buses tend to be on time.

Gender Roles

• During the era of communism, women moved away from the traditional role of staying at home. Instead they worked the same as the men folk.
• Women are just as likely to work rather than be stay at home moms.
• Up until a few years ago, all boys at age 18 had to perform military duty. Girls were exempt from this. Presently, people can soldiers voluntarily sign up instead. Women may participate in military duty as well.

• Women are expected to take care of children, meals, and the house. Maternal Leave (after one has a baby) is three years for each child. It is common to see men walking the baby, but it is accepted to be the woman’s job. Daycare is often frowned upon.

• Women tend to be very protective of their kitchens, and if they share a house with older family members, this tends to be number one complaint.

• Mothers tend to bundle their children up as if they were constantly expecting violent snowstorms, and will get a talking-to from older women especially, if they dare to break this rule.

Law & Order

• The legal drinking and smoking age is 18 though neither are enforced. It’s not uncommon to see teenagers as young as 14 or 15 smoking and in some cases already drinking.
• The legal limit for drinking and driving is ZERO, and it is strongly enforced
• Drug use was virtually non existent under communism. Now, since several years have gone by, drug abuse is on the rise but still not as prevalent as seen in many other western countries.
• Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines.

Dress

• For Men- Men typically wear conservative-style suits. Dark colors are the most prevalent.
• For Women- Women also wear darker colored conservative clothing such as skirts or slacks with a suit jacket.

Titles & Business Cards

• The most common form of address for men and women is Pán for Mr. and Pani for Mrs. Titles are more commonly used in their written form, when addressing a letter, for example.
• You should always wait to be invited to use first names before doing so yourself.

• There is no specific protocol surrounding the giving and receiving of business cards. It is always best to treat the card with respect.

Meetings

• If attending a meeting, most Slovaks prefer to be introduced by a third party. Rarely will a Slovak introduce himself or herself first. If some minutes have passed and no introductions have been made, feel free to step in and introduce yourself.
• When you are being introduced it is fine to say “Téši ma” (pronounced te-shee ma), while shaking hands. This means “Nice to meet you”. Alternately, just repeat your last name while shaking the hands of others you are being introduced to.
• When you first meet someone the interactions are on a formal level (formal address, formal pronouns, etc.). After a time, usually over drinks, your Slovak counterpart will invite you to address them in the familiar ty. The transition actually has a name: ty-kat. If you are not paying attention you may not even know that it is happening. It is significant because you are being invited to address them on a more familiar basis and that means you are beginning to gain their trust.

Negotiations

• It is best to remain calm and professional; avoid any sort of confrontation and do not resort to hard sell tactics.
• Expect a great deal of time to be spent reviewing details before a final decision is made.

Gift Giving

• Gifts are not generally exchanged at initial business meetings.
• When invited over for dinner or a drink, you should always bring the hostess a gift. A nice bottle of wine or a dessert is acceptable.
• Gifts tend to be opened when received.

In the Classroom

• Most schools begin in September and end at the end of June

• For most university students, jeans and shirts are the standard choice of clothing. Any provocative or very revealing attire is unacceptable.

• Grades are usually given on a 1 to 4 level, with 1 being the highest. A 4 is failing.

• At the university level, lecture style classes are the most common form of teaching, especially at the introductory level.

Other Observations

• Most stores do not stay open late, are not open on Sundays, and close at noon on Saturday. For holidays, such as Easter and Christmas, EVERYTHING closes for about a week. So stock up on what you need.
• Folk culture still exists, such as music, dance, costumes, food. And it is highly specific based on what region you are in.
• Name days: until a few years ago, Slovaks were required to name their children with one of the “official” names, and each one corresponds to a particular day, which is celebrated like a birthday.
• Everything (almost) in Slovak in given a diminutive. Sara = Sarka, Martin = Martinko, etc.
• Slovaks tend to head to the hills constantly, for any occasion…weekends, holidays, etc. Cities may be empty, but the woods are full.

• People are friendly once you break the ice, and are very generous. It takes time, though, to allow them to get used to foreigners. There is a general atmosphere of “why are you here?” as many young Slovaks want to leave the country for school or work.
• In addition, English is becoming common for children/young adults to study, but this is quite recent. The older generations learned Russian, and many people who are now in their 20s and 30s learned German – so sometimes it can be difficult to find an English speaker.