West European Business & Social Etiquette

About the Book

This is a stunning instructive book that guides you along the way toward doing business successfully. This book describes business and social etiquette of 17 West European countries. Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Swiss, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Ignorance may cause very uncomfortable situations, missed opportunities or even

embarrassment. To avoid all of that, while doing business in West Europe, some useful guidelines will tell you how to behave the “proper” way according to the local or national “etiquette” of the places and countries in which you are doing business. Etiquette varies by country and even by region in West Europe, but there are general guidelines that help make you feel more at ease, while doing business or when socializing.

When you treat people with respect and you behave in a correct way, you create a pleasant atmosphere, whether it concerns a business environment or a social one. That is what it is all about: respect the people around you and try to adjust as much as possible when you are a “guest” in another country. However, always expect the unexpected.

In this book you’ll find guidelines regarding major topics in business, from the first

meeting until the deal is closed and everything in between. In order to become successful it tells you: what you should do and what you should not do.

Apart from the YES and NO pages of each country, it provides you with some general information about the country, headlines of its history and its business profile.

In addition to that you find humoristic anecdotes, describing experiences in specific countries of how things can go totally wrong (unintentionally). It also gives you practical TIPS that might help you to meet the needs of your business counterpart. Also some useful checklists on specific business situations, such as preparing presentations, agendas and pointers on how to tackle specific behavior, will guide you along the way toward doing business successfully. The anecdotes about some embarrassing situations may even put a smile on your face.

About the Author

Kathy S. ten Broeke - Knell was born in Indonesia and raised in the Netherlands. She obtained her doctorate in linguistics (University of Amsterdam) as well as several post doctorate certificates: e.g. psycho linguistics; mass communication; argumentation etc.  She started teaching at 24 and founded her own business, Inside Out (USA), five years later. She remained a part time professor through all these years at the Hogeschool Inholland in the Netherlands, the college of Business and Economics, where she taught Dutch and foreign students, from literally all over the world, the ropes of business and personal communication skills.

With a background of more than 25 years in (personal) coaching, and training more than a hundred European businesses Kathy ten Broeke began writing her smart guides some twenty years ago. She wanted to provide all her students with useful information without text overkill. Many of her smart guides on (business) communication and argumentation skills have been adopted by Dutch Business Academies. In addition to that she wrote many songs (some of them turned Gold), magazine articles which were published with her own photography, newspaper stories/interviews and even television programs.

Recently she gathered all of her valuable experiences from years of coaching/training, adjusted this interesting information for the international market and turned it into her first international book: West European Business and Social Etiquette - a smart guide toward successful business.

Now she lives and works in the United States with her American husband.  She organizes workshops, trainings and clinics on West European business and social etiquette as well as business communication skills.