Top 10 Ways To Be Courteous In Australia When Dealing With People Of Different Ethnicity, Race, Creed, Colour Or Gender Orientation

7 min.

Top 10 Ways To Be Courteous In Australia When Dealing With People Of Different Ethnicity, Race, Creed, Colour Or Gender Orientation

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Courteousness Wins the Game for Aussies

If you have been to Australia, you would have an idea of what are considered to be good and bad etiquettes in Australia. And if you do not know about the good etiquettes in Australia, then you do not have to worry, because Aussies are not very much adamant for their rules of etiquettes. There are certain behaviours which are considered fine in today’s world but give a wrong impression in Australia. Rudeness, however, is not tolerated around the globe, but then again there are different standards of rudeness. So let’s learn together the ways Australians show courteousness to the people around them.

1. To the Left

Australians have something to do about being on the left. In Australia, you have to drive on the left side of the road as well as the streets too. Not only driving, if you are stopping on an escalator or walking on the streets and even on roads, but you should also stick to the left-hand side. One of the most common etiquettes in Australia is you should remain at your left and should not block people who are passing you when on stairs do not rest your hand on the right-hand side of the railing. Always try to stick to the left side, while you are doing any movement, anywhere possible. When you are riding bikes, staying to the left is not only politeness but is for your safety too.

2. Personal Space

When you are in Australia, you are required to give personal space to everyone. This country is known to be the 9th least populated country in the world in terms of density. That is the reason why Aussies need a large personal space even in the busiest cities. You are considered to be rude if you bother someone unless it is very urgent. On crowded places, you are not expected to come across someone and hug him/her directly, you need to stay away from a person at least at an arm’s length. If due to some problem, you have to invade in this personal space, you need to ask before by saying ‘excuse me’ or a sorry may also work. If you are in the theatre, you must sit at a distance of some chairs from strangers. You can sit without distance only if the theatre is houseful or if the seats are assigned as such.

3. Meeting The People

When you are greeting local Aussies for the first time, be very casual and relaxed. If you smile while talking and make a handshake, this will remain with Aussie for a long time. A greeting is always a very nice way to meet someone in Australia. If you want to call someone, remember Aussies usually prefer their first name to be called in the initial meetings. So if you greet any Australian with his first name, it is never rude. And by chance, if you do not remember the name of any person, ‘mate’ will always go for you for addressing.

4. Tip The Hospitality Staff

In Australia, if you tip the hospitality staff, it’s good, but if you don’t, it’s not considered rude. Tipping the wait staff, cab drivers and hotel staff is not necessary for Australia, when compared to the United States of America. If you are in an upscale restaurant, then you are required to tip the staff, but you are never considered miser or rude when not doing so.

5. Dining Etiquettes at a Party

Barbecue is known as Barbie in Australia, and if you are visiting Australia, there is a likely chance that you will be getting invited by any Australian for Barbie. Bringing beer or wine as a guest on the barbecue is considered to be good etiquette. Sometimes if the gathering is quite informal, you might be asked to bring your own meat for the Barbecue. Punctuality is always good etiquette to have. If you are at a party on time, then you can get many advantages as you have enough time to interact with people and get a better understanding of each other. Before you arrive at a party, it is always considered courteous of you to ask the host, whether he or she requires you to bring anything to the party. When you are at a party, you may offer some help to the host, which always feels nice. You can help in preparation of meal or cleaning of the house after the party is over.

6. Elevators

The elevators or lift rules in Australia are very simple. When a person is approaching the elevator after you, it is always nice to hold the door for him or her. The Aussies will consider you more polite if you are standing close to the lift buttons and ask them the floor on which they have to go. Especially if the lift is crowded, your politeness will be very much appreciated.

7. Business Meeting

If you want to hold a business meeting in Australia, it is always considered right if you take an appointment beforehand. Remember to take the appointment well before time so that your meeting gets scheduled easily. When you have set the appointment, all you have to do to improve your impression on the other party is arriving on time. Punctuality is the key to a successful business meeting. Remain relaxed during the meeting, no matter how much serious the agenda is. To impress Aussies further, keep your presentation short and on point, and do not fill your presentation with just figures and facts. If they think differently than you, they will tell you directly.

8. Say Hello

Usually Aussies great each other with ‘G’ day’ and ‘mate’, but you do not have to say it a lot since saying mate is a stereotype so a ‘hello’ with maintaining good eye contact while greeting would go well. If you are meeting the person with whom you are to keep a long relationship, like the class fellow, roommate or colleague for the first time, it is a good approach to have a handshake. Aussies prefer to be called by first names, so no matter you are in any formal situation, you do not have to say Mr/Miss/Sir/Madam which might look a little stiff.

9. Negotiation

We all know that Australians are famous for getting work done on time and as quickly and efficiently as possible. They are also famous for long talks. So you can easily negotiate with Aussies, but only to a little level. All you have to do is keep a direct approach and cover everything including the important details in brief meetings. If you cover long stories in a brief time, you will be highly appreciated. Since Aussies are not accustomed to bargaining, so you should have only a little margin for negotiations. Decision making is rather a long process because Aussies tend to make decisions after consultation with subordinates and associated people.

10. Boarding The Train

Last but not least, one of the major etiquette to show courtesy in Australia is waiting for others to exit the public transport if you are boarding it. If you do not wait for the people to exit, then it will irritate the people travelling with you. Especially if it is a Monday morning and everyone is in a hurry, remember to give way to the passengers who are exiting. In capital cities, during the peak hour traffic, you can easily get on anyone’s nerves by just making some noise. There are special etiquettes to follow for using public transport.

Conclusion

There is a huge lot of difference between the etiquettes of American and Australian people. From business to dining, and from travelling to meeting new people, Aussies have other definitions of good etiquettes and being courteous. So before you make any blunder in Australia and destroy your impression, have a look at the basic etiquettes you need to follow in Australia.