2013 Business Etiquette UK Trade and Investment in Turkey Contact us for enquiries dilara.yardimci@fco.gov.uk
Time-Management Workdays: Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 18:00, however, some firms may work on Saturday too. Lunch-time during workdays is from 12:00 to 13:00 or 12:30 to 13:30 Turkish people generally go on a summer vacation around July-August, so it’s important to arrange a meeting on a time where both sides can attend and inform the other side about the meeting 1-2 weeks before coming. No business runs on Turkish National Holidays. They are as follows: January 1: New Year's Day April 23: National Independence & Children's Day May 19: Atatürk Commemoration & Youth Day August30: Victory Day October 28-29: Republic Day 8-9 August: Ramadan Fest (moveable dates) 15-17 October: Kurban Fest (moveable dates) Communication In Turkey, it is important to shake hands firmly at the start of an introduction and a business meeting. Before starting a business discussion, ask about how they are, how their families are doing. The family is very important in Turkey and it will help to bond a friendlier relation. Topics Turkish businessmen enjoy to talk about are their culture and football but try to avoid political conversations. Turkish people give importance to friendships and they would like to do business with the people they know, like and trust. In the beginning of a business relation, it is important to get to know each other. Therefore you should be open about yourselves & business and make eye contact. In Turkey, English is the most common foreign language so most of the businessmen speak English. Business Meeting and Negotiating After a small talk, start the meeting and discussion by introducing yourself and your business. In the meeting, it’s better if you have both English and Turkish documents about your business. An oral discussion can be supported by visual communicators like drawings, graphs, statistics and etc. as Turkish people would enjoy the meeting both orally and visually. When negotiating on financial terms, be patient because it may take some time to agree on a point mutually. In Turkey the currency is Turkish Lira, but Dollar and Euro are currencies commonly used when doing business. During working hours, Turkish people generally drink tea or Turkish coffee, so visitors are welcomed and offered tea and Turkish coffee as well. Turning down refreshment offers might come across as impolite. Business Dinners & Entertainment After business discussions, it is possible for your host to invite you to have dinner in a restaurant. This will usually be paid by your Turkish host. It is good manners in Turkey to offer to pay, but not be overly insistent in paying for the meal or the event. In general practice, entire meal is not ordered at once. One course is ordered at a time and after finishing it, the next is ordered. Generally, after dinner, Turkish coffee or tea will be served. Turkish coffee (somewhat like espresso) is a very strong and hot drink and it is served without milk. You should indicate to the waiter whether you like it plain, with little, medium or lots of sugar. Dress Code, Naming & Business Cards Generally, Turkish businessmen’s dress code is similar to the accepted mode of dress in Western Europe – a suit, shirt and a tie and for women it is either a suit or a skirt combination. During summer, it’s very hot in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, therefore trousers, shirt and a tie would be suffice. The exchange of business cards is a common practice. In Turkish when calling a person it is common to use ‘Mr’ and ‘Mrs/Ms.‘bey’ (pronounced bay) refers to Mr and “hanim” (pronounced hunum) refers to Mrs/Ms and used after the first name. Ex: Mr. Ali Ozan = Ali Bey / Mrs. Ayla Deniz = Ayla Hanim You can find some Turkish words that will be useful for you below. Hello - Merhaba No - Hayır Good morning - Gunaydin Thank you - Tesekkurler How are you? - Nasilsiniz? Have a nice day - İyi gunler Yes - Evet Please - Lutfen