Multicultural Manners

Both highly informative and entertaining, "Multicultural Manners" gives readers the understanding they need, the perfect words to say, and the correct behavior to use in a wide range of cross-cultural situations. This incisive and award-winning guide to etiquette features completely updated etiquette guidelines with special emphasis on post-September 11 culture clashes as well as a brand-new section that demystifies unfamiliar cultures in the news. Norine Dresser identifies key cross-cultural hot spots and suggests methods that foster respect for diversity. Readers will discover the dos and don'ts of successful business and social interaction, detailed tips on avoiding embarrassment in a variety of social settings, amusing firsthand accounts of cultural gaffes, a breakdown of customs, religions, languages, and ethnicities for seventy different countries, and appropriate etiquette for innumerable settings.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments.Introduction.1. The New Rules of Communication.Body Language.Child-Rearing Practices.Classroom Behavior.Clothing and Jewelry.Colors.Foodways.Gifts.Health Practices.Holidays.Luck and Supernatural Forces.Male/Female Relations and Gender Issues.Miscellany.Prejudice.Time.Verbal Expressions.2. Clearing Cultural Confusions.A Quick Reference Guide.Map.Africans.Asians.South Asians.Southeast Asians.The Balkans.Independent Members of the Former USSR.Middle Easterners.Bibliography.Index.

About the Author

NORINE DRESSER is a professional consultant, speaker, folklorist, and educator. From 1993 to 2001, she wrote the award-winning "Multicultural Manners" column for the Los Angeles Times. Dresser has been interviewed on the Voice of America and numerous other radio and TV shows.