Building Relationships in the Middle East

What do I know?

Cultural Awareness

Islam - National Cultures – Politics – Communication Building Relationships

Relationship Driven Cultures

Would you lie?

Plenty would

WHO is more

important than WHAT

Hierarchy

Honour & Face

Communication

Business & Pleasure

How do I build a relationship?

Patience

Get Personal

Get Physical?

Wasta

Keep faces the same

Gender

Where are you working?

Status

It’s not easy

Working Virtually

Thank You

@neil_kwint

www.kwintessential.co.uk

• Where is ME?• Who am I?• Cultural awareness spans many areas – relationship for me is #1 priority when working

with ME as its hardest to break• Why relationship driven culture? Theory.• Who is more important than what• Seeing it in practice – honour, communication (indirect, polite, no/yes, inshaallah,

mixing biz + personal, shisha, paying food, • How to build/what to do – patience, give 100% to small talk (its doing you good), get

personal, frequent contact, wasta, remember if ppl change you need to start again, • Gender considerations – remember attitudes to women vary from state to state,

Prophet’s wife worked, in Gulf women achieve status through nationality and profession, in places like Saudi you need a mahram (see if you have local contacts), reality is also that it can be tough

• Working virtually –