I'm reading Focus by Daniel Goleman. One of the topics he discusses is social sensitivity, which is being able to recognize social contexts and cues in conversations. In business, and in life, this is an important skill to have because it demonstrates that you are aware of other people in social and business situations. If you've ever been in a situation where someone isn't socially sensitive, you know what its like. The person keeps talking about themselves and whatever they are interested in, and doesn't listen to anything you say and refuses to see the nonverbal cues that also demonstrate you aren't interested. When this kind of situation occurs it becomes very awkward for everyone around the person. I see this situation occur a lot in networking. I'll go to a networking event and there will be one or two people there who just don't seem to be aware of how much they are hogging the conversation.
It is possible to become more socially sensitive. One of the ways you can do this involves practicing mindfulness. Being mindful involves focusing on being aware of your surroundings and other people, in a manner where you pay close attention to what is being said or done. Before you go to a networking event, take a few moments and ask yourself what you want to say and how you want to show up to people. When you go to the event, keep that awareness in your mind so that you focus on only telling people what you want them to know. When they speak, focus on listening to them intently. Ask some questions to show interest in them (you can come up with these before you go to the event as well). By doing this you will be more aware of other people and it will help you learn how to read the verbal and nonverbal cues they share.
In situations where you are doing business with someone from another country, social sensitivity is even more important. Each culture has its own particular behaviors which are considered acceptable, and other behaviors which aren't considered acceptable. Recently I started working with a client from another culture. When we discussed some business strategies, she explained to me that there were some things she couldn't do or would need to do differently because of how people would respond in her country. She needed to be less direct than an American might be, because such directness could be considered rude.
Even in the U.S. you will find that certain subcultures or ethnicities have different expectations about how business should be conducted. What might be acceptable to one ethnicity, might be considered rude to another. It's very important that in such situations you make the extra effort to learn what is considered acceptable behavior versus rude behavior. By demonstrating such social sensitivity you show that you are aware of and respect what other people feel is important. In business and in life respect is what really shows how committed you are to developing the relationships that make your business successful.