Shaking hands is very, very important because it shows that you want to make a connection, but at the same time, the respect for hierarchy, the respect for titles.

The hierarchical structures in a German company are indiscernible, I think, to an outsider, it's as simple as that. If I try to get something done from London in Germany, it takes me quite a long time to understand who's actually the decision-maker.

In Britain when you first meet, you try to make some joke or lighten up the situation with some humour and that breaks the ice very fast. If you do the same in Germany, people think you're really shallow and not particularly intelligent, so that backfires quite extraordinarily. Germans have a different type of humour and it's used in different contexts. German humour works in a more structured way because Germans have a more formal way of presenting it. And they like a certain way of slapstick, but they don't have the same equivalent to the British playing with the language basically or being very flippant.

• When meeting in a professional setting, Germans really like you to demonstrate some technical expertise or knowledge to start with.
• It's quite important to take a formal approach and to wait until the situation warms up.
• Never use first names at first meeting.
• The most important thing is to be punctual.
• Meetings are fairly snappy, there is no real time for small talk.
• It takes a long time for Germans to use the more familiar or the informal Du in communication.