Whether you’re already a businessman or businesswoman or are looking to dive into Spanish business, respect is a must. This value is at the basis of business. So if you want to impress Spanish speaking coworkers, CEOs, clients and partners, you must know how to address a matter or a person respectfully.
This will open many doors for you. It’ll make you a better person. Clients will be more than happy to buy your product or service, because they appreciate a good treatment. Business partners will want to collaborate with you. You’ll get a raise or a better job, and so on.
This being said, you now might be wondering how you can achieve this important goal of being respectful. Don’t worry, here’s our Fluency Corp’s guide on how to speak Spanish in a respectful way in business. So you impress everyone with your good manners and grow your career.
Preferably Use “Usted”
Learn how and when to use the second person pronouns “tú”, “usted”, and “vos”. This is highly important! In Spanish, all of these three words mean “you”. So when you’re speaking to someone you’ll have to use one of these, but which one? That’s what you have to be careful with.
“Tú” and “vos” are usually used in more informal situations or when speaking to someone close to you or that is not an authority. So, for example, it’s not common to call your boss by “tú”. It might sound disrespectful.
You must also not talk to an old person using these pronouns. In some places, kids do use “tú” or “vos” only when speaking to their grandparents, never with another old person. But in other places it’s still not common to use these pronouns with your grandparents. It depends on the culture.
“Usted” is the word used in formal situations or with formal people, older people or authorities, like your teachers, the police, your boss… So this is better for business. When in doubt, always use “usted” for business in Spanish.
You should also learn in which countries to use these pronouns. Many countries don’t use “vos”. For example: In Mexico, people don’t use this pronoun; they will understand you if you say it, but they don’t use it. Contrary to Argentina, where they prefer to use “vos”.
Learn How to Conjugate “Usted”
Okay, so far, we’ve learned that “usted” is the formal way of “tú” (you) in Spanish and, therefore, you should use it in business. But here’s another very important thing you must know related to “usted”: Learn how to conjugate the verbs when using the pronoun “usted”.
That’s right, the verbs are not conjugated the same when you use “usted” as when you use “tú”. Depending on the end of the Spanish verb in its infinitive form it’s the end of the verb conjugated when using it with “tú” or “usted”. For example:
- Speak/Talk – Hablar = Tú hablas / Usted habla
- Run – Correr = Tú corres / Usted corre
- Open – Abrir = Tú abres / Usted abre
We explain it in more detail here.
This is a more respectful way to speak in formal situations and to formal people, like your boss or a client.
Use Titles to Speak and Refer to Others
In business in Spanish, people tend to address others using a formal title for them – like Mr., Mrs. or Miss. This is usually followed by using only the last name of the person they’re talking to and not their full names. For example:
- Good afternoon, Mr. García – Buenas tardes, señor García.
- What do you think about the investment project, Miss Pérez? – ¿Qué opina del Proyecto de inversion, señorita Pérez?
They also use the job title of the other person when they want to speak to them, especially if they’re an authority, like the boss. For example:
- I would like to have a meeting with you, director – Me gustaría tener una junta con usted, Director.
- Good morning, engineer Rodríguez, can I talk to you for a moment, please? – Buenos días, ingeniero/ingeniera Rodríguez, ¿puedo hablar con usted un momento, por favor?
If you’re talking to a coworker, you can speak to them simply by using their names, no need for titles. Especially if they’re also your friends. There can be an exception if the coworker is old, as is common to speak more formally to old people in Hispanic countries.
Get to Meet Your Business Colleagues
While in a business meeting, more often than not, you’ll notice that they start with some chit-chat. They don’t start discussing business right away. So go with it. Participate in their small talk, ask questions (not about business), and answer what they ask you nicely.
This is something many Spanish-speaking business people love to do before talking about the topic of the meeting. They’re breaking the ice and “preparando el terreno” (paving the way) to speak about work. And it’s a great opportunity to get to know others.
The boss will start the business talk when they decide it or when they feel like the small talk is giving path to the business discussion. When that happens, avoid talking about anything else that’s not related. Otherwise, it might seem like you’re not paying attention to the meeting.
If you try to cut off the conversation to get straight to business, you’ll sound disrespectful and like you’re not interested in them.
The same applies for when you meet a coworker. If, for example, the person you’re meeting starts doing some small talk to you, try not to cut them off. Answer or say some things; try to get to know them a bit. If the chit-chat is starting to take too long and you need to go work, try to get off the conversation nicely.
Always Greet Others
Greeting is very important when doing business in Spanish; it’s a sign of education and respect. It speaks well of you.
You have to make sure you’re greeting them formally. You can’t use phrases you would use with your friends or family. For example: “Qué onda” (what’s up) doesn’t work for a business environment; it’s way too easygoing.
Here are some formal Spanish phrases to greet people in business:
- Good day – Buen día
- Good morning – Buenos días
- Good afternoon – Buenas tardes
- Good night – Buenas noches
- How are you – ¿Cómo está?
- Nice to meet you – Mucho gusto
- A pleasure to meet you – Un placer conocerle
You can combine many of these with a “hola” (hello) first. For example:
- Hello, good afternoon – Hola, buenas tardes.
Try not to skip anyone in a room when greeting them. If the room is full of way too many people, you can say a formal greeting for all of them.
For example:
- Good afternoon to everyone – Muy buenas tardes a todos.
A firm handshake goes very well with a formal greeting.
Say Goodbye Formally
Just like greeting, saying goodbye is also important in Spanish. It shows that you’re educated, and that you respect the other person enough to say goodbye to them.
Here are some formal Spanish phrases to say goodbye to people in business:
- See you later – Hasta luego.
- See you tomorrow – Hasta mañana.
- It was a pleasure to meet you – Fue un placer conocerle/conocerla/conocerlo.
- I look forward to continuing this discussion/conversation – Espero con ansias continuar con esta discusión/conversación.
- We stay in touch – Quedamos en contacto.
You can combine an “adios” (goodbye) with another one of these phrases. For example:
- Goodbye, it was a pleasure to meet you – Adiós, fue un placer conocerlo.
Or combine one of the phrases that are synonyms to goodbye, like “hasta luego”, with another of the phrases above. For example:
- See you later, I look forward to continuing this discussion – Hasta luego, espero con ansias continuar esta conversación.
You can also combine one of the greetings above that are formal synonyms to “hello” – “good day”, “good morning”, “good afternoon”, “good night”, with one of the phrases for saying goodbye.
For example:
- Good afternoon, see you tomorrow – Buenas tardes, hasta mañana.
This way you’re wishing them to have a good afternoon but also letting them know you’re leaving.
Write Formal and Well-Structured Emails
Another way of communicating in Spanish in business is by email. But you can’t write the content of the email just like that. The email needs to be formal and have structure. Otherwise, it might seem too informal and maybe even disrespectful, and you run the risk of not being taken seriously.
You must greet the person and introduce yourself first. Use formal language and phrases. For example:
- To whom it may concern – A quien corresponda…
- Dear Mr./Mrs./Miss/director – Estimado Sr./Sra./Srta./Dir.
- Good day/Good morning/Good afternoon/ Sr./Mrs./Miss/director – Buen día/Buenos días/Buenas tardes Sr./Sra./Srta./Dir.
Then, introduce yourself. Once again, use formal expressions. For example:
- My name is… And I’m the director of… – Mi nombre es… Y soy el Director de…
Now you can proceed to write the information, content or questions of the email.
Finally, don’t forget the goodbye. You can add a phrase or question letting them know you wait for their response, like a call-to-action phrase. For example:
- Looking forward to your response – Quedo en espera de su respuesta.
- Do you have any questions? – ¿Tiene alguna pregunta?
Then just say goodbye by wishing them a nice day or week, or by sending your regards. Don’t forget to add your complete name at the end and your job position. This is a business email, so if you just write your first name it won’t be seen as formal. For example:
- Regards, (your name), Vice President of… – Saludos, (tu nombre), Vicepresidente de…
Check out this blog for more detailed information on how to write a Spanish business email.
In many Spanish speaking countries, a greeting and goodbye, even on emails, are seen as a sign of education and respect. And using formal language on emails is a must to feel respected by your colleagues.
Always Say “Por favor” and “Gracias”
This might seem obvious, but it never hurts to remind it. Ever since we’re kids, we’re taught to always say please and thank you. This is no exception for the Spanish language. Parents teach their kids the importance of saying “por favor y gracias” (please and thank you).
This applies for all contexts. No matter if you’re at school, at a friend’s house, at the grocery store, at the playground… You must always say these words when asking for something or receiving something. Oh, and it also applies for any age. Therefore, it applies to work.
So, yes, you must use these words when doing business in Spanish. People will appreciate that you ask nicely and thank them. They’ll feel respected and making them feel this way will make them want to keep working with you and will attract more clients.
So, por favor, do not forget “las palabras mágicas” (the magic words): “Por favor” and “gracias”.
Learn How to Properly Communicate in Spanish with TruFluency
Do you want your Hispanic coworkers to feel more appreciated? Or are you an expat and want to impress everyone at the office? It all starts by speaking with respect! No matter the language you’re speaking at the office, you must know how to communicate with kindness and education.
Good news is TruFluency offers language classes customized to your needs. So, if you need to learn vocabulary to speak Spanish with respect when doing business, we can help you.
But that’s not all we can teach. We can help you learn the basics, improve your pronunciation, learn idioms, and more.
Oh, and we not only teach Spanish. We teach more languages with our native tutors, just in case you want to be a polyglot.
The best of all is that we encourage you to speak in every single class. This way you’ll achieve language fluency!
Just take two one-hour trial classes! We have flexible schedules, and you’ll get to see how committed we are to helping you achieve all your goals!
