Chinese Business Face: Communication Behaviors and Teaching Approaches

Abstract

Chinese businesspersons are extremely sensitive to protecting and enhancing face. The Chinese sensitivity to face is a result of their emphasis on enduring relation ships and social networks. The hundreds of phrases in the Chinese language describing face demonstrate the sophistication of the Chinese conceptualization of face and related behaviors. For the businessperson, saving face and giving face are the most important face-related skills. Chinese businesspersons use various com munication strategies in order to save face and give face, including indirectness, intermediaries, praising, requests, and shaming. Western businesspersons can pre pare to operate effectively in the Chinese business environment by learning about the Chinese conceptualization of face and related communication strategies.