Most of us have used the hand gesture for “OK”, when you make a circle with your index finger and thumb. This is, of course, perfectly acceptable in American business circles but that same symbol in many parts of Europe is actually a vague obscenity - not the thing you want to do when pitching to a European client. And that's only one example of how cultural respect can play such a huge role in today's international business world and there are many more.
Mike Switzer interviews Pamela Eyring, owner of the Protocol School of Washington. She lives and works in both Washington, DC and Columbia, SC and has worked with heads of state, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and four-star generals.
