10 Tips On Using Business Cards

1. Exchanging business cards should ALWAYS be done with respect and decorum, whichever country you are in. It is so easy to make a cultural gaffe.

2. In Asia, offering and receiving cards is a very formal ceremony and, in a formal meeting, the cards are kept on display during the meeting. It is a good idea to place the cards you receive in a pattern that corresponds to where each person is seated, so that you can use the correct name.

3. In Asia, never casually offer your card with just one hand. Hold your card with both hands when you give it, and bow slightly.

4. Always pass it the right way up so the other person can read it immediately. This shows consideration for the other person.

5. Show respect when you receive a card by using both hands. Especially in the Far East. Look at it, study it, then put it away or on the table carefully. Do not put it into your back (hip) pocket. (Equally, do not offer an Oriental a card taken from your wallet in your back pocket.)

6. Don't write on other people's business cards

7. The Japanese like photographs on cards. These are beginning to become common in the US and UK. It is worth putting your photo on your own card -- using the same photograph as you might have opn your website.

8. Many US/UK companies are dispensing with job titles, as they are considered unnecessary. However, titles are very important in most other cultures, so use them when abroad. They signify seniority and status, both of which are important in many countries.

9. Have supplementary information or a translation on the reverse side of your card.

10. Your card represents you, so don't use tatty or out-of-date ones. Your card conveys an impression of who you are, and is the main impression that remains when you have left.