Op-Expat

Living in Austria now for almost two years has opened my eyes to how Austrians and Americans go about things differently. I’ll say right now that one group is not superior to the other, but each group is most definitely better at some things than the other group.

I’ll start with what the Austrians can learn from the Americans. But beware American readers, my next post will be about what we can learn from the Austrians.

Self confidence – Americans have a glow of self confidence about them. They have to. In the business world, if they do not give off the aura of self confidence, they’ll get eaten alive. Austrians need to get over their, “We’re so little and powerless,” complex. Otherwise they get manipulated by people like me. When doing business, my husband and I shamelessly exploit this complex to our advantage. We put on our power suits, walk in as a team, and take any Austrian down who dares to stand in our path. We’ve enjoyed incredible discounts and services. Does this mean being rude or nasty? No. We’re polite, but use knowledge, data, and facts to intimidate our opponent. We also make it clear that we don’t take any crap.

Formal presentation skills – When Austrians conduct presentations in front of a crowd, they are factual, straight-forward and read off of PowerPoint slides. Americans on the other hand are conversational, loosen things up with a joke or two, make eye contact with their audience, and connect. Dear Austrians, please attend a few ToastMasters meetings if you have to do presentations at work. You’ll thank me for it.

Informal presentation skills – I am referring to when Austrians meet new people. I know they hate small talk. They think it is artificial babble. And it is! But guess what. The artificial babble that Americans are so good at makes others feel at ease. So Austrians, next time you go out to a networking event, or meet new people, have a few topics in your brain to refer to. I find if you are speaking to another Austrian, acceptable topics are vacation plans and favorite coffeehouses. If speaking with an American, ask about a favorite movie.

Body odor – There are some Austrian people out there that have such intense body odor, it makes me gag and stagger backward in surprise. An old co-worker of mine was so bad that I could not enter his office as he stank up his own space. I don’t know what it is and I don’t care. Personal hygiene is a must. Here Americans excel. I have yet to come into contact with a stinky American.

Tact – Americans live by the rule: If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all. Austrians, it is not okay to greet something with this opening line, “Hey there, see that you gained some weight!” Use a little tact and keep those kinds of thoughts to yourself. This was an actual occurrence that I observed when my husband was greeted by his aunt. Paul kept silent, but later he told me that what had popped into his mind was, “Yeah, well, you look old.” Beware the backfire if you do not use tact.

So those are my thoughts for now. I would love to hear yours in the comments section.

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