Belgium🕣
State in north-western Europe. Official name – Kingdom of Belgium. Population – 11.6 million (as of 2021). Capital – Brussels. Official languages – Dutch, French and German. Government type – federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Main religion – Christianity.
Belgium
Greeting
The handshake is an accepted form of greeting in Belgian business circles. It traditionally starts and ends every business meeting.
The handshake should be quite firm and during the first meeting can last as long as the parties are introducing themselves to each other. During the handshake, it is important to maintain eye contact with your partner.
If your meeting takes place in the office of your Belgian partner, remember to say goodbye to everyone involved, including the administrative staff, at the end of the meeting. In doing so, however, you should be guided by protocol or accepted norms of behaviour of the host party.
It is customary to shake hands with both men and women when greeting them as part of a formal communication or at the start of a business relationship.
Close friends or relatives exchange a light kiss on the cheek when they meet (3 times). However, this occurs when men say hello to women or between female friends. Men, even those in a friendly relationship, usually greet each other by shaking hands.
Your Belgian partner will appreciate it if you greet them in Dutch or French.
During the greeting, it is important to maintain a non-intrusive eye contact.
Introduction
In business situations, Belgians traditionally address each other by their surname. Names are used for close friends or relatives.
You will be able to call your partner by name after some time, when your relationship becomes more trusting, and only after your partner himself suggests it.
During the introduction, your Belgian colleague will first say his first name and then his s...
Exchange of Business Cards
Exchanging business cards is a common procedure in Belgian business practice. It is a starting point for communication that can later develop into cooperation.
There is no special ritual for exchanging business cards in Belgium. You should always have an ample supply of business cards, especially if a number of meetings are planned....
Small Talk: Overview
Good manners and polite behavior are highly valued in Belgium. It is not customary to shout or speak loudly during public events. Belgians often impress foreigners as reserved and calm people, especially during the first meeting.
Belgians care about their private life and are not prepared to let people they barely know into it. However, as contacts develop, as they work on a project tog...
Preferred Topics
Belgium has a rich cultural heritage and is well known for its art, architecture and music. If in a conversation with a Belgian colleague you mention the artists Rubens, Van Dyck, the singer Jacques Brel, or talk about a dance or music festival you have been to, it will certainly create a good atmosphere in the conversation.
Belgian sights and places you've visited or plan to visit in t...
Taboo Topics
Political, religious, linguistic or class differences that exist in Belgian society can be classified as topics that should be avoided.
The country's population consists of two main ethnic groups, the Flemish, who speak Dutch, and the Walloons, who speak French. A third, very small but nevertheless constitutionally recognised ethnic group is the Germans, who live on the border with Germ...
Personal Space
In Belgian society, the comfort zone is an arm's length. If you shorten this distance, you are violating the other person's personal space - at least that is how it will be perceived in Belgium. Only in the Walloon Region of Belgium can this distance be shortened a little - it is slightly less than in other regions.
Physical contact during communication is not accepted in any of its for...
Communication Specifics
The coexistence of two large ethnic groups - the Flemings and the Walloons - affects many aspects of life, including the style of communication in this society.
In addition to these two ethnicities, representatives of other ethnic groups live in Belgium - Italians, Moroccans, French, Turks and the already mentioned Germans.
It is estimated that 25% of the Belgian population are...
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