communication
Non-verbal Communication
Dubai is a high context country with a lot of emphasis on non-verbal actions to communicate, touching with left hand is a social insult, as the left hand is for toilet functions. Also they generally do not approve of any touching between females and males (including hand shakes), but to greet people of the same sex you shake their hand or kiss them on the cheek. In Dubai when a person is experiencing grief or sadness it is clearly evident in their facial expressions this contrasts to Western cultures as people tend to hide their emotions. Also in Dubai many people make prolonged eye contact as it shows interest and helps one understand the truthfulness of the person they are talking to. Another way of non-verbal communication evident in Dubai is the way one dresses, you will need to be considerate of their Islamic culture by being conservative in the way you dress. More information about clothing is on the 'Religion' page of this website.
Dubai is a high context country with a lot of emphasis on non-verbal actions to communicate, touching with left hand is a social insult, as the left hand is for toilet functions. Also they generally do not approve of any touching between females and males (including hand shakes), but to greet people of the same sex you shake their hand or kiss them on the cheek. In Dubai when a person is experiencing grief or sadness it is clearly evident in their facial expressions this contrasts to Western cultures as people tend to hide their emotions. Also in Dubai many people make prolonged eye contact as it shows interest and helps one understand the truthfulness of the person they are talking to. Another way of non-verbal communication evident in Dubai is the way one dresses, you will need to be considerate of their Islamic culture by being conservative in the way you dress. More information about clothing is on the 'Religion' page of this website.
Verbal communication
As Dubai is a high context country there isn't many different ways of verbal communication, there is only paralanguage and text. Talking with a loud voice indicates strength and talking with a soft voice indicates weakness, this contrasts to Western culture techniques as we believe that talking loudly can indicate that you are frustrated, or a situation is out of control. In Dubai when greeting a person it is customary to say, "As Salaamu 'Alaykurn" meaning: Peace be upon you. When addressing elders it is very important to address them with their correct title such as, Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc. This is a representation of the high level of respect for elders in Dubai.
As Dubai is a high context country there isn't many different ways of verbal communication, there is only paralanguage and text. Talking with a loud voice indicates strength and talking with a soft voice indicates weakness, this contrasts to Western culture techniques as we believe that talking loudly can indicate that you are frustrated, or a situation is out of control. In Dubai when greeting a person it is customary to say, "As Salaamu 'Alaykurn" meaning: Peace be upon you. When addressing elders it is very important to address them with their correct title such as, Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc. This is a representation of the high level of respect for elders in Dubai.