Meeting and Greeting

When a male and female meet, the woman must offer her hand first for a handshake. To be safe, say “Namaste,” with your hands in front of your chest as if you were praying, and give a slight bow, suggests Brewer Stone, managing director of Greenbrae, Calif.-based East Peak Advisors, which advises technology companies on cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Always use titles and full names when addressing people.

Giving a Gift

Most Indians are either Hindu or Muslim, so your host’s religion will affect the kind of gift you bring Hindus revere cows, so anything leather is inappropriate. Muslims do not eat pork or drink alcohol, so an all-American pigskin football and a bottle of wine would both be bad choices.

Dining

Eating Continental-style—fork in left hand, knife in right—is considered good manners in Europe and the U.S. This is not the case in India, where locals view the left hand as unclean (because it’s the hand used for sanitary purposes). Eating with an unclean hand will offend your host, so do your best to keep your left hand away from the meal.

Other Etiquette

Be sure not cross your legs when sitting down. You don’t want the sole of your foot to point at your counterpart. “It is the highest insult in this country,” says Michael Soon Lee, president of EthnoConnect, a multicultural marketing company in Dublin, Calif.