1) Italians place emphasis on formality in initial business relationships, including proper dress, manners, and use of honorific titles. 2) When introducing yourself, be polite, respect personal space, have good hygiene, gently shake hands, and be aware of hierarchical cultural norms. 3) Meetings in Italy value relationships over strict schedules, and interruptions are common as ideas arise. Conversations among multiple people at once also occurs. 4) Appropriate small talk topics include sports, weather, food, culture, but avoid criticism of Italy or discussions of politics, religion, or crime.

1. “WHEN IN ITALY,
DO AS THE ITALIANS DO”
LESSON N.2: Business
Paolo Donati

2. Ciao!
My name is Matteo and today I will try to drive you through some small tips you might use in
order to handle your next business visit in Italy.

3. Before introducing yourself…
In the very first steps of a business relationship expect
a certain emphasis on formality.
Remember that Italians will value your business
knowledge but they also usually notice and evaluate
you by the way you dress: in Italy consider as a rule
that generally talking also “the eyes do eat”:
From this derives also another rule: always properly
handle good manners (“Bot Ton” or “galateo”): to be
rude in manners with everyone (from the waiter to the
driver) is not a sign of higher status ranking!
For young generations “old stile” formality frequently shifts to informal approach & business casual
especially among coworkers even if (at early stages) it’s still maintained between managers and
subordinates. In the public sector and between high professionals formality is still nowadays key and often
associated to “status” ranking.

4. Introducing yourself: 5 rules…
1. Be polite, discreet and formal
2. Respect body distance (1 arm ca) and gentle eye
contact
3. Proper hygiene (as usual don’t touch your body,
nose, mouth etc. before shaking hands!)
4. Gently shake hands not too long. Shake hands also
when leaving. No bowing. No kisses: eventually this is
usual only between friends and that it is usual to “air
kiss” both left & right cheeks
5. Italian culture is pretty hierarchical especially in
public sector: therefore be careful to use appropriate
names and titles (see next slide)

5. Buongiorno dott.Rossi, tutto bene?
Address business colleagues with family
names preceded by Signor (Mr.), Signora
(Mrs.) or Signorina (Miss).
Use titles and last names until your Italian
colleague invites you to use his first name.
The title Dottore (Doctor) is either given to an
individual with 5y university BSC/MSC degree
(Dott.) either to physicians (Dr.).
Other professional titles followed by last name:
- ingegner (engineer) both for male/female
- avvocato (lawyer) both for male/female Titles are easily
found also in
business cards
(Dott./Ing./Avv./…)
WORKING TIME
Italians usually work from 8.30 /9.00 to 18:00
Monday to Friday with an hour for lunch.
Generally avoid to organise meetings in
August (usual summer / “Ferragosto” holiday
time).
Titles to use when addressing people
Salve John, complimenti per il suo italiano ;))

6. When boarding on a plane or
arriving in a hotel reception
you can also say the neutral
“SALVE”.
Leaving someone with
formal “arrivederci” (“see
you”) or “a presto” (“see you
soon”) is still fine!
IMPORTANT!
In the Italian formal
language remember that
there’s no neutral “you” but
a rigid 3rd person singular
“Lei” (the same of the
German “Sie” or the
French “Vous”).
That’s why…
“CIAO” IS ONLY
FOR FRIENDS!
TAXI: always take white regular
taxi and don’t pay any tip other than
the sum displayed in the taximeter.
If the driver starts arguing tell him
you will phone to his own call center
From/to (hh)
6,00 / 17,30
18 / 20
From/to (hh)
o 13,00 / 17,30
when going to bed
Buongiorno
Buonasera
Buon pomeriggio
Buonanotte
From/to (hh)
6,00 / 17,30
18 / 20
From/to (hh)
o 13,00 / 17,30
when going to bed
optional

7. Meetings
Punctuality and meeting schedule: it is appropriate to arrive punctually at meetings.
Anyway it is tolerated a 10/15 min delay without phone notice (but after that limit
better to notice your counterpart). Beware that usually there are no strict meeting
timelines since time is something flexible…
Therefore be prepared also to not always full-structured agenda: Italian meetings
are relationship-minded and not dominated by fixed agenda and “early-booking”.
Expect also sudden changes!
Interrupting a speaker in meetings is often tolerated to
allow the introduction of new elements as soon as they
get along.
Often several people may speak simultaneously thus
creating “micromeetings”.
It is not unusual to hear mobile rings during meetings
or public conferences even if most mobiles are
generally switched to “silent” mode…
TIP: to finish a talk / a meeting simply say a long
emphasized “va bene” (= “all ok, alles klaar, allez...”)

8. Small Talking
Appropriate topics
Discussing about the latest football
(soccer) event is still particularly dear to
Italians and perhaps less controversial
than politics (only between Italians). Try
to find out your counterparts' favorite
sport team and stay informed about
recent game results looking eg to
http://www.gazzetta.it/. Other popular
topics that can be used to small talk
include weather, weekends, family, Italian
culture, cooking, sport F1 cars, travel and
books. The most popular newspapers you
can try to follow are: www.corriere.it and
www.repubblica.it
Inappropriate topics
Avoid criticizing any aspect of Italian
culture or speaking about politics,
corruption, religion and Mafia.
Remember that 17 is the Italian doomed number

9. Eating
“La colazione” (breakfast) is usually around 8 am and consists of hot drink (coffee usually) or
orange juice etc + biscuits/croissant (“brioche” in Italian), fruit, bread, butter, jam. Normally
business is not made during breakfast. Normal price for small breakfast made of Espresso
and croissant (not seated / at the bar) is of 5 Euro.
“Il pranzo” (lunch) starts around 13,00 and often lasts 1 hour. In company premises it is usual
to have canteen (“Mensa”).
“Cena” (dinner) is eaten usually after 19,00 but business can start as late as 20/21,00.
It is normal to say “Buon appetito” (enjoy the meal).
Burping or removing shoes in public is vulgar!
Common toasts are “Salute” or “Cincin”.
As a normal rule the host pays the bill.
Tip are already included in the bill as “coperto” but it is up to the host to add some extra 10%
little money. Credit cards are used but often not for sums which are less than 5 Euro.
TIP: remember that locally produced fresh food is always highly
appreciated by the Italians!

10. FOR MORE: http://www.slideshare.net/PaoloDonati1/in-italy-
do-as-italians-do-how-to
BUSINESS AND COFFEE:
THE PERFECT COMBINATION!