Meeting Etiquette
. Greetings are casual, with a firm handshake, direct eye contact, and a smile.
. Shake hands and say good-bye individually when arriving or departing.
. Shake hands with women first.
. Danes tend to introduce themselves with their first names.

Dining Etiquette
If invited to a Danish home:
. Arrive on time. Danes are punctual in both business and social situations.
. Check to see if you should remove your shoes before entering the house.
. Contact the hostess ahead of time to see if she would like you to bring a dish.
. Offer to help the hostess with the preparation or clearing up after a meal is served.
. Danes enjoy showing off their homes since they have usually done the decorating themselves and are proud of their accomplishments. Therefore, they are happy when you ask for a tour of their house.
. Do not discuss business.

Watch your table manners!
. Wait to be told where to sit. There may be a seating plan.
. Table manners are Continental -- hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right while eating.
. Always keep your hands visible when eating. Keep your wrists resting on the edge of the table.
. Try everything.
. Expect to be offered second helpings. You may refuse without offending your hosts.
. Finish everything on your plate. Danes do not like wasting food.
. When you have finished eating, place your knife and fork across your plate with the tines facing up and the handles turned to the right.
. The man seated to the left of the hostess generally offers a toast of thanks during the dessert course.
. Do not begin eating until the host toasts with 'Skol'.
. When toasting, raise your glass about eye level and make eye contact with the people seated closest to you.

Business Etiquette and Protocol in Denmark
Meeting Etiquette
. Appointments are necessary.
. Confirm appointments in writing.
. Initial correspondence should be made to the company and not an individual.
. Do not try to schedule meetings from mid June through mid August as many Danes are on vacation.
. You should arrive at meetings on time. The Danes you are meeting will be punctual.
. Telephone immediately if you will be detained more than 5 minutes.
. Shake hands with everyone upon arriving and leaving. Handshakes should be very firm and rather short. Maintain eye contact while being introduced. Always shake hands with women first.
. Business cards are exchanged. Your business card should have the physical address of your company and not a post office box.
. Danes use their professional title and their surname. If someone does not have a professional title, use Herr (Mister), Fru (Misses) or Froken (Miss). Danes move to first names quickly. Nonetheless, wait to be invited before using someone's first name.
Business Negotiation
. Send an agenda before the meeting and work from it without deviation.
. Decisions are made after consulting with everyone involved.
. Presentations should be well-organized and factual. Use facts, figures and charts to back up statements and conclusions.
. Maintain eye contact while speaking.
. There will be a minimal amount of small talk. Danes prefer to get down to business quickly.
. Communication is direct.

Doing Business - Meetings and Negotiations
If you are planning on doing business in Denmark then make an appointment at least two weeks in advance. Avoid the months of July and August as most businesses will run on skeleton staff due to the number of long holidays taken at this time of year.
Punctuality is important in Denmark. It is expected for all business and social engagements. If you are running late ensure you telephone and offer a valid reason.
Send an agenda prior to any meeting. At the beginning of meetings small talk is brief and courteous. You will notice when doing business in Denmark that the Danes are reasonably relaxed, informal and tolerant yet expect professional standards of behaviour. Being good humoured is acceptable but being humorous should be kept to a minimum. The Danes are very direct and frank communicators which is perceived in Denmark as a sign of sincerity and honesty.
If you are doing business in Denmark which involves negotiations, come well prepared. The Danes are meticulous when it comes to analysing information and proposals. Bring a wealth of information in written form for your Danish counterpart to examine. Presentations should be factual and well-organised. Having the 'gift of the gab' will get you nowhere if it is not supported by logical, rational and proven evidence.

Directness – The Danes are very direct communicators, preferring openness and honesty which may seem offensive to foreigners. Even in business meetings Danes will leave the small talk for later and get straight to the heart of the subject. They don’t mean to be rude or arrogant; their directness is simply their style of communication.
High- and Low-Context Cultures
Likewise, don’t expect businesspeople from these regions—or businesspeople from most of Mediterranean Europe, for that matter—to “get down to business” as soon as a meeting has started. They’ll probably ask about your health and that of your family, inquire whether you’re enjoying your visit to their country, suggest local foods, and generally appear to be avoiding serious discussion at all costs. For Americans, such topics are conducive to nothing but idle chitchat, but in certain cultures, getting started this way is a matter of simple politeness and hospitality.
If you ever find yourself in such a situation, the best advice is to go with the flow and be receptive to cultural nuances. In high-context cultures, the numerous interlocking (and often unstated) personal and family connections that hold people together have an effect on almost all interactions. Because people’s personal lives overlap with their business lives (and vice versa), it’s important to get to know your potential business partners as human beings and individuals.
By contrast, in low-context cultures, such as those of the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries, personal and work relationships are more compartmentalized: you don’t necessarily need to know much about the personal context of a person’s life to deal with him or her in the business arena.

Intercultural Communication
Different cultures have different communication styles—a fact that can take some getting used to. For example, degrees of animation in expression can vary from culture to culture. Southern Europeans and Middle Easterners are quite animated, favoring expressive body language along with hand gestures and raised voices. Northern Europeans are far more reserved. The English, for example, are famous for their understated style and the Germans for their formality in most business settings. In addition, thedistance at which one feels comfortable when talking with someone varies by culture. People from the Middle East like to converse from a distance of a foot or less, while Americans prefer more personal space.
Finally, while people in some cultures prefer to deliver direct, clear messages, others use language that’s subtler or more indirect. North Americans and most Northern Europeans fall into the former category and many Asians into the latter. But even within these categories, there are differences. Though typically polite, Chinese and Koreans are extremely direct in expression, while Japanese are indirect. This example brings up two important points. First, avoid lumping loosely related cultures together. We sometimes talk, for example, about “Asian culture,” but such broad categories as “Asian” are usually oversimplifications. Japanese culture is different from Korean, which is different from Chinese. Second, never assume that two people from the same culture will always act in a similar manner. Not all Latin Americans are casual about meeting times, not all Italians use animated body language, and not all Germans are formal.
In summary, learn about a country’s culture and use your knowledge to help improve the quality of your business dealings. Learn to value the subtle differences among cultures, but don’t allow cultural stereotypes to dictate how you interact with people from any culture. Treat each person as an individual and spend time getting to know what he or she is about.

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