Business culture in Nicaragua

Nicaragua is one of the largest countries in Central America. It has a strategic location between North and South America, making it attractive for investors and business. Foreign partner from Nicaragua — who is he? Everything that is important to know about the first meeting, how to build business relationships and conduct business with representatives of this country.

Greeting

The usual form of greeting in Nicaraguan business practice is the handshake, which is exchanged by both men and women in formal communication situations. A handshake is also a form of greeting between the sexes.

It is important to say hello to each person if you are meeting with a group of people. Everyone who sits at the table where the meeting is taking place or is in this room should be greeted personally. You should not limit yourself to just a general greeting to the group, addressing everyone at once.

The handshake exchanged between men should be firm and accompanied by eye contact.

If the greeting within the framework of the initial contact generally looks rather formal, then subsequent meetings, as a rule, are more emotional and warm: when meeting, people hug each other, women often exchange kisses. Your partner's behavior will help you choose the right tone of greeting — follow his example.

During the first meeting with a potential partner from this country, after the introduction add “Mucho gusto” (Very nice to meet you! Glad to meet you!)

Typical phrases with which Nicaraguans greet each other are: “Buenos días” (“Good morning”), “Buenas tardes” (“Good afternoon”) and “Buenas noches” ("Good evening").

As part of a formal meeting, those senior in age or position in the company introduce their junior colleagues to those present.

Presentation

As part of first contacts in situations of official, formal and even social communication, use formal forms of address — Señor/Señora/Señorita, followed by the person's last name.

In official communications, when contacting, you should use the professional qualifications or position of the partner, if any. The most common are Doctor (Doctor), Abogado (Lawyer), Ingeniero (Engineer), Profesor (Teacher).

At the beginning of a business relationship, Nicaraguans tend to address a foreign partner using their last name rather than their first name and expect the same in return. In this case, be sure to name the corresponding professional qualification, position or academic title / degree of the person, if he has them.

If the professional qualifications or title of your partner are unknown to you (or they simply do not exist), use polite forms of address, namely: “Señor” (Mr) for men and “Señora” (Ms) or “Señorita” (Miss) for women, followed by the person's last name.

Spanish traditions can be traced in Nicaraguan surnames. The surname itself consists of two parts: after the personal name, first comes the surname of the paternal father, and then the surname of the maternal father. For example: Felix Sarmiento Carrera. In communication, it is enough to use the first of these surnames, in this case — Señor Sarmiento.

In terms of the use of names and titles/ranks, follow the example of your Nicaraguan colleagues. Maintain an appropriate level of formality at the initial stage of developing a business relationship. Wait for the initiative of your colleague in Nicaragua, who himself will suggest you switch to addressing him by name.

Exchange business cards

In Nicaraguan business practice, it is customary to exchange business cards both during the presentation as part of the first meeting, and during meetings, for example, within the framework of an exhibition, fair, conference or any forum. Therefore, it is important to have an adequate supply of business cards.

The business card usually contains the name and surname of the owner of the business card, his position, company name and address, telephone numbers and email.

The text of the business card, on at least one of its sides, must be in Spanish. When handing over, make sure the front side is the one with the text in Spanish.

There is no special ritual when handing over a business card in Nicaraguan business practice. However, when accepting another person’s business card, pay attention to what is written on it. A positive comment or compliment addressed to a company or person will not be out of place.

Small talk: the big picture

Don’t be surprised if, during small talk, your partner in Nicaragua asks you questions of a personal nature, for example, about your family, salary, or your life in general. This is generally accepted in this society. It is worth maintaining a conversation even on such topics, since this is important for the subsequent development of business relationships.

Nicaraguans can be described as open and emotional interlocutors. They are happy to respond to any topic, with the exception of politics.

Humor — an important element of communication in Nicaragua. Your partner will certainly appreciate a funny story, anecdote or anecdote from life. All this will create a more relaxed atmosphere conducive to building trusting relationships.

Pay attention to your appearance before meeting with a colleague from Nicaragua. Clothes should be clean and ironed, and not necessarily expensive. During official events, it is important to maintain a strict clothing style, which implies restraint in everything — starting from the choice of style and ending with the color scheme.

Preferred themes

• Family and everything that is in one way or another connected with home and family relationships.
• History and culture of Nicaragua. Sights of the country, nature, famous places.
• Positive impressions of Nicaragua, certain regions or cities of the country.
• Kitchen, food — interesting and safe topic.

Taboo topics

• Politics and corruption — two topics even the mention of which should be avoided in a conversation with a Nicaraguan partner. Each of these topics is very important in this society, which in the last 30-40 years has been shaken by armed conflicts, military coups, changes of government, etc.
• You should not speak too openly and straightforwardly about issues of the current internal politics of Nicaragua. They can be quite painful for your partner. In addition, you may not know what political figures or forces your partner may be associated with.
• Avoid mentioning the names of both internal (for example, Daniel Ortega, Anastasio Somoza) and external politicians.
• Religion is also one of the topics that should be avoided when communicating with a Nicaraguan colleague.
• When talking about the United States of America, do not call this country America, but the citizens of this country — Americans, since residents of Central American countries also consider and call themselves Americans. It is better to use the words “US Americans“ or „People from the United States”.
• Avoid comparisons (especially critical ones) of Nicaragua with other Central American countries, such as neighboring Honduras and Costa Rica.

Comfortable communication distance

It should be borne in mind that the distance of comfortable communication in this society is less than in other cultures. It averages 50 cm (for comparison in the countries of central and northern Europe - 100-110 cm). When talking with friends or loved ones, Nicaraguans may stand even closer to each other. This is part of Nicaragua's warm, personal communication style. If during a conversation you stand quite far away from the interlocutor (which may be common in your culture), this may be perceived as a certain aloofness and lack of interest in this interlocutor.

An important part of communication is body language and gestures. The natives of this culture actively gesticulate and often touch each other, for example, patting each other on the shoulder or arm, hugging or lightly squeezing the shoulders of the interlocutor, thereby demonstrating their friendliness and goodwill.

During communication, direct, constant eye contact should be maintained, but it should not be very long. Eye contact with a woman should be even more moderate.

You should not copy the behavior of Nicaraguans in conversation. Body language — this, in general, is a rather complex area that is well understood (or rather, felt) only by representatives of the culture of which they are carriers.

Features of communication

An important characteristic of communication in this society is the creation of relationships of trust and mutual understanding. This may take a long time.

In Nicaragua it is not customary to be straightforward and overly frank in the process of communication. Representatives of this culture are more likely to prefer cautious and friendly statements so as not to provoke a conflict situation or cause “loss of face.” another person.

It is common in communication to avoid using a direct “No.” Instead, it is better to say: “I need to think.” or even just remain silent — this will be clearly perceived in society as confirmation of refusal or disagreement.

It is important to show deference and be as respectful as possible, while at the same time adhering to the rules of protocol, when communicating with people occupying certain positions.

A certain degree of formality should be present in communication with a Nicaraguan colleague at the initial stage of developing a business relationship. This is manifested in the use of both polite forms of addressing a person and neutral language means.

In general, Nicaraguans have a warm and friendly manner of communication. You will make a good impression on a potential partner if you show yourself to be a sincere and interested interlocutor.

Your fellow Nicaraguans — active and dynamic interlocutors. The conversation is often emotional and loud. They make extensive use of body language and gestures. Pauses of silence, as a rule, occur rarely.