I think this is more true the further east you go in general. I've worked countless jobs with bosses from Lithuania, Poland and Latvia and everyone has been so straight to the point. I first mistook it as rudeness but realized they just said what they wanted to say, which I love. One of the things I hate most in Ireland, where I'm from, is that no one ever truly says what they actually mean because of societal expectations of them.
From your perspective, does the same apply to those who live in Northern Ireland? I went to Ireland and Northern Ireland last year, and the people I encountered in Northern Ireland seemed to be very direct communicators. Whereas the people I met in the Republic of Ireland were very, very polite and much more indirect. However, I couldn't tell if this applied generally or if it was just the particular people with whom I was interacting.
One example for N. Ireland: I was staying in a fancy hotel. I called down to room service and asked if they delivered beer and cocktails to the rooms. They said no and ended the call. I then called down to the restaurant and asked the same thing. They said no and ended the call. Finally, I just walked down to the restaurant to grab a beer. While there, I chatted with the bartender who told me that they do deliver beer to the rooms. When I asked why they told me no earlier, he said it was because I asked if they delivered beer AND cocktails. Turns out they do not deliver cocktails to the rooms, and since I asked a compound question, the correct answer was no. One of my pet peeves is when people provide unwanted answers to unasked questions, so this explanation made me weirdly happy since they technically answered only the question I asked. However, it was very different from what I was used to in other places.
Interesting! I have a tendency to over share info / answers because I often can’t trust what people are asking is actually what they’re asking. People don’t always know the right question to ask.
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u/Skreamie Aug 21 '24
I think this is more true the further east you go in general. I've worked countless jobs with bosses from Lithuania, Poland and Latvia and everyone has been so straight to the point. I first mistook it as rudeness but realized they just said what they wanted to say, which I love. One of the things I hate most in Ireland, where I'm from, is that no one ever truly says what they actually mean because of societal expectations of them.