Page 85 - The Voice of Authority

uniqueness. In high-context cultures the message comes
not only from the words, but the context of the words:
Who said it? When? How? In response to what? With what
body language? What was not said? In other words, mean-
ings are often implied and understood from many things
other than mere words.
If unaware of such differences, you could insult people
in high-context cultures by dressing too informally during
an important sales presentation or management briefing
or slouching in your posture. On the other hand, you can
and should indicate status simply by greeting and intro-
ducing colleagues.
Edward Hall, a specialist in this area, ranks high-context
cultures in this order: Japanese (highest), Chinese, Arabic,
Greek, Spanish, Italian, English, French. In low-context
cultures, the words themselves convey the primary mes-
sage; the context carries less weight. Hall identifies the
American, Scandinavian, German, and Swiss-German
(lowest) among the low-context cultures.
Ignoring context can be a big mistake—in any cul-
ture. My first business trip to Malaysia almost turned
into a disaster from the moment I stepped out of the
airport. Because all the logistics of the trip had been
handled through a third party, I wasn’t sure exactly
who would be meeting me upon arrival at the small pri-
vate airport on the outskirts of the city—the client ex-
ecutive himself, a lower-ranking assistant, or a car ser-
vice. A casually dressed man of middle age greeted me
on arrival, having no difficulty at all recognizing me,
the only blonde on the plane or in the airport at the
time. We tried to make conversation, but his English
was very limited, and I had learned only a few words of
Malay. He held the door open to the backseat of his car,

Is It Clear? 73