Business Common Sense in Japan

Business manners are courtesy practices to make your business run smoothly. If you ignore business manners, you may not be blamed by others, but you may lose the trust of your business partners and colleagues. In particular, since Japan is a high-context culture and talks on the premise that the other party has a certain level of knowledge, non-verbal communication, such as “perceive” and “read between lines” is often used.

A company is a group of people who work together in order to achieve a common goal. When you are outside, be aware of yourself as a company representative. This is because your movement, attitude, and language can determine the company’s impression.

Greet & smile
あ：明るくbrightly
い：いつもalways
さ：先に beforehand
つ：続けて会話に continue the conversation

“Thank you.” makes people feel motivated and happy.

The magic of smile
Smile makes people feel secure and trustworthy. It is important not to forget smiling at work.

How to smile sincerely
1. Sincere smile makes the muscle around your eyes move naturally
2. Show as much your upper teeth as possible.
3. The mouth corners should be rising

Wording
1. From command type to request type:
・何とかしてください。➔ご配慮いただけませんか。
・帰ったら伝えておきます。➔戻り次第申し伝えます。
・うちの誰を呼べばいいですか？➔失礼ですが、誰をお呼び致しましょうか？
・確かに伝言を受け取りました。➔確かにご伝言を承りました。
2. Positive answer
If you are not sure, reply after confirmation.
3. Use easy-to-understand words
Avoid jargon.
4. At least use polite language
When calling people, make sure to attach “San/sama”!