—You will hear a presentation. This presentation is about various kinds of problems occurring during doing business in Brazil. —

Brazilians take pride in their Portuguese heritage, so to call locals Spanish Americans would be insulting. On the same note, Brazil’s official language is Portuguese, not Spanish. Frequently, the spelling of Portuguese words is exactly the same as Spanish, but the pronunciation differs greatly. Before opening your mouth in this country, learn to speak a few words and avoid committing a cultural offence.
    If your business destination is one of the northern cities like Rio, city of carnival and the samba, expect a somewhat casual environment. However, when scheduling meetings in southern cities, you’ll find business settings just the opposite: quite formal. Bring comfortable semi-casual clothes for business in the north, and conservative dark suits or dresses for southern cities like Sao Paolo. Time is important to southerners and lateness is considered rude and un businesslike. In the north, however, your host may not always be so punctual. If you called a meeting at four, a Rio citizen, for example, may interpret gathering time as around four (like maybe four fifteen or so). Whatever you do, don’t be put off or indicate that you were concerned about the late arrival: your South American counterpart won’t understand.
    Shaking hands and exchanging business cards begin any first business meeting in Brazil. At that time, introductions are made. Formalize your contact’s first name by preceding it with Senhor, Senhora or Senhorita (Mr, Mrs or Miss). The surname is not generally used. Soon after this formality, the title is usually dropped at the request of your host. Once you’ve become friendly with Senhora Astrud, you would be expected to simply call her Astrud.
    If you are indicating approval on a business matter, never give the okay sign of a ring formed by the thumb and index finger. This is an obscene gesture in Brazil. instead, close the first and shoot the thumb up. During the business day you will most likely be offered cafezinho, a very strong Brazilian coffee. Accept it graciously so as not to offend your host. If you don’ t like coffee, sip it slowly. People from the United States should never refer to their country as ’America’. It is better to say you’re from the United States. South Americans, particularly Brazilians, find North Americans a bit egocentric when referring to back home as ’America’, After all, Brazilians live in America too.