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Mexican Communication Insights

This document discusses communication styles in Mexican culture. It notes that Mexicans prefer indirect refusals rather than direct "no" answers. They also use diminutives to soften meanings. In writing, questions use an upside-down question mark at the start and a regular one at the end. Group conversations can involve talking over each other and asking personal questions. In business, people use family names or titles like "licenciado" to show respect. Non-verbal communication such as touching, gestures, eye contact and emotional expression are also very important in Mexican culture. Punctuality is more flexible and time frames are estimates rather than exact times.

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525 views3 pages

Mexican Communication Insights

This document discusses communication styles in Mexican culture. It notes that Mexicans prefer indirect refusals rather than direct "no" answers. They also use diminutives to soften meanings. In writing, questions use an upside-down question mark at the start and a regular one at the end. Group conversations can involve talking over each other and asking personal questions. In business, people use family names or titles like "licenciado" to show respect. Non-verbal communication such as touching, gestures, eye contact and emotional expression are also very important in Mexican culture. Punctuality is more flexible and time frames are estimates rather than exact times.

Uploaded by

Agent XXV
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INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION 101:
Communicating the Mexican Way
The Mexican Communication Styles &Practices

Submitted by: Alfafara, Philippe Anthony

Dugan, Reinz Bill

Submitted to: Ms. Merien Alimpangog

Subject: Oral Communication 01


Verbal
 Giving direct refusals are offensive to them. Instead they’d rather “beat around the bush”
than to say “no”.
 They use a lot of diminutives to give their meaning s a softer edge.
 When writing a question, they use an upside-down question mark in the beginning of a
sentence then a regular question mark at the
end.
 When in group conversations, it is generally
acceptable to talk over one another, like
asking question about people’s private lives.
 In business, it is common to address someone
with their family name. They only use their
first names if their relationship is well-
established. In addition, titles such as Liciendo/a (a professional such as a lawyer) or
Ingeniero/a (an engineer) are also commonly used terms of respect.
 Spanish has a huge influence on their language.

Non-Verbal
 These people can be touchy.
 Distance matters while standing during a conversation.
 They tend to hold eye contact for prolonged periods of time. This is normal.
 The use of hand and arm gestures is very normal.
 Holding the index finger up (as if to point) and then curling it up and down repeatedly
and quickly is a hand gesture for “yes”.
 Nodding may not always mean that you agree with what a person is saying.
 Men shake other men’s hands as
a sign of greeting and leaving; the
same is also done with women
kissing other women on the
cheek. However, between men
and women, a man will wait for a
woman to offer her hand to him,
he will not offer his first. Women
also don’t kiss men on the cheek.
 When people of the Mexican
culture are engaging in a
conversation, they will talk at a
close distance. If you step back
from someone you will probably
be taken as unfriendly. Also, if
you withdraw when someone
touches you for example on the arm or shoulder, it is considered to be insulting.
 Putting your hands in your pockets is considered impolite.
 If a man is making direct eye contact with another man it is considered to be aggressive,
and if a woman makes direct eye contact with a man (or vice versa), it is considered as
flirting.
 Expression of emotion signifies you are really engaged in the conversation you are in.
 Mexicans are not very meticulous when it comes to time and being late is considerable.
Mexicans will give time frames but usually they do not give an exact time.
 Mexicans do not like people who speak aggressively especially in business deals.
 Overall, nonverbal communication is very dominant in the Mexican culture.

Bibliography
 Evason, N. (2018).Mexican Culture: Communication. Retrieved from:
https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/mexican-culture/references-6460feaa-a840-4395-
9963-527b742d166a#references-6460feaa-a840-4395-9963-527b742d166a
 Communicaid Group Limited. (n.d.). Mexico Cross-cultural and Language Training |
Communicaid. Retrieved from https://www.communicaid.com/country/mexico/
 Warburton, K. (n.d.). Mexican Communication Styles. Retrieved from
https://www.worldbusinessculture.com/country-profiles/mexico/culture/business-
communication-styles/
 Dunker, E. (2012, October 23). Nonverbal Communication in Mexico. Retrieved
from https://ericadunker.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/nonverbal-communication-in-
mexico/
 Liu, M. (2018, March 21). Verbal Communication Styles and Culture. Retrieved from
http://communication.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001
/acrefore-9780190228613-e-162

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