Business Trip Etiquette

Business trips as exciting as they are, are usually not as exciting as they seem. The need for a business trip could be spontaneous or planned, but whatever the case, there are basic business trip etiquette you need to imbibe, in order to make your trip worthwhile for you and your host.

In no particular order, here are few business trip etiquettes to make your trip enjoyable, memorable and rewarding.

1. Learn the geography of your destination

• You will need to have an ample knowledge of the geography of your destination, for example: the continent, landmarks, popular cities, hotels, weather, etc.
• A good understanding of the geography of your destination would help make your trip worthwhile, so you won’t feel lost or out of place.

2. Learn the culture

• Learning a little bit about the culture of the country would make it easier to blend in;
• Learning the basic thing like greetings, choice phrases and mannerisms would make your host more hospitable to you, knowing that you made out time to learn about their culture;
• It also shows you respect their culture;
• Learning to say hello, thank you, please, goodbye, etc in Chinese would be nice if you are in China;
• You would do well to be appropriately dressed for the country you are travelling to so you are not perceived as being disrespectful.

3. Be well behaved

• Nothing pisses off an host more than an ill-mannered guest. Endeavour to put on your best behaviour when on a business trip;
• Smiles, thank you, please and good table manners should not be far from you.

4. Have good conversation skills

• Networking is the currency of the business world. You will do right by honing this skill before embarking on your trip;
• Engaging fellow attendees of a business trip would expand both your network and net worth;
• Also, bonding with colleagues and your boss during a business trip is ideal, but make sure you don’t go overboard by getting too personal.

5. Understand their time concept

• You need to understand the time zone of the country you are travelling to so you can adjust your mind to adapt to a different time zone.
• The importance your host attaches to time is key during a business trip; a country like Mexico might start a 10am meeting at 11am or 12 pm, while a country like Japan would start a 9 am meeting at 8:45am.
• So, don’t feel bad if you found yourself in either situation.

6. Post on social media carefully

• Ensure your social media posts reflect the positive side of your trip not the negative;
• Appreciate the country and its cuisine, don’t criticize;
• Write good reviews about the country on your social media page(s); your host could check your handle(s).

7. Goody bags

• Ensure you come back with the ‘spoils of war’ from your trip;
• Your colleagues at work would appreciate goodies bags from your trip. It’s a way to thank them for taking up your job while you were gone;
• Remember to thank the Servers, Valets, Bellhops and service workers that attended to you while on your trip. A little tip would go a long way.

In conclusion, don’t forget to leave a thank you note for your host or send a little gift to show appreciation. Also, endeavor to follow up on the relationship brokered during your networking time.

I hope this was helpful. What others tips could you add to the above? Share in the comments section below and also share this post to your social network(s).

Cover image credit: Face photo created by prostooleh – www.freepik.com