Culture operates both visibly and invisibly to influence the substance of negotiations and the performance of the eventual contract. It is therefore necessary for an exporter to have knowledge of both the foreign culture and the negotiating process in that culture. This includes familiarity with the spoken language and with body language (that is, typical gestures); knowledge of the country's social customs and formalities; awareness of the degree to which subtleness or, inversely, directness is current in negotiations; understanding of the use of time in formal talks; knowledge of the degree to which compromise is acceptable for reaching a final accord; understanding of the decision-making process in the counterpart company; and awareness of the sanctity of oral versus written contacts.

(Note: The sanctity of something is its quality of being considered so holy or important that it must always be respected totally.)