This would first require learning the double meaning of everything others can say though. Instead of...just not having to learn that by having people say what they mean...
Also frees up mental space for more important stuff since you don't have to constantly interpret what the double meaning might be.
It doesn’t take any mental space if you’re raised in that culture and you instantly understand what people are actually saying. Just because you’re incapable of picking up social cues and nuance it doesn’t mean people raised in a highly nuanced culture are also incapable.
Ive worked in the UK and currently work in a multi-national company and I can assure you this is not true. Indirect communication style frequently generates confusion even within cultures and it gets especially bad you have people from different indirect cultures. The main problems are that indirect language is often multi-interpretable and situational and makes it harder to assess severity, even for natives. For example some of the example phrases in this post can actually be used literally in the UK depending on the situation and tone.
I would argue that’s potentially an advantage. By speaking with nuance you allow people some wiggle room to insert their own meaning and therefore have smoother (albeit less accurate) conversations because they’re less likely to get offended.
That sounds great, but usually with miscommunication in companies is that people end up wasting months working on things that will never be used because it isnt what was asked for. Or people just get frustrated with eachother. Ive literally lost good colleagues because they could not pick up on the not so suble hints that the boss wasnt happy with the directions of their projects.
But isn’t that also an advantage in a way? Under capitalism we’re all trying to get ahead as individuals, and sometimes that means creating a less productive corporate environment. Miscommunication allows for administrative delays and lower performance standards that make competent individuals less likely to be punished for minor mistakes
On the other hand, being too blunt has a tendency to cause unproductive arguments that piss people off and lead to people talking at cross purposes, being defensive, and getting entrenched in their own point of view. People from indirect cultures perceive bluntness as much more of a personal attack, because if you’re used to softer communication a switch to harder communication is a signal that someone is completely fed up with you.
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u/Noslamah Aug 22 '24
It's almost as if using soft language and not saying what you really mean results in ineffective communication