Spain: First Name or Title?
From ExecutivePlanet.com
Addressing others with respect
As a guiding principle, first names are traditionally reserved for family, close friends and children.
It is always correct to use the basic titles of courtesy - Señor [Mr], Señora [Mrs], Señorita [Miss] - followed by the surname. It is also advisable to address qualified individuals by any titles they may have, e.g., Profesor, followed by their surname; professional and/or academic titles, however, are not normally used when addressing Spanish executives.
The old courtesy titles don and doña preceding a first name to show respect to an older or senior man or woman when talking to or about them are increasingly rare in modern Spain; they may still be used before full names in official documents and contracts or in combination with Sr, Sra or Srta in formal correspondence. To use them in speech today risks appearing sarcastic or mocking.
Spaniards have two surnames [apellidos] - their father's first surname and their mother's first surname - and you should take care to use both unless/until it becomes clear that your colleague uses only one; the same applies to compound first names, e.g. José-María.
Similarly, you should use the formal usted when addressing a counterpart in Spanish unless/until invited to use the more informal tú.
Increasingly, though, you will find that younger Spaniards in particular will use first names and tú from the outset in business relations, at least with their peers, and reserve usted for superiors and for older people, whatever their position in the company [also, confusingly, for servants]. This applies especially in the South, which tends to be more informal and quicker to embrace a more familiar relationship.
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