Issues & Background - Communication

Potential Issues

It is an interesting cultural fact, that people do not look for (hear or see) elements of conversations we do not expect. This means that direct communicators react only to direct inputs and do not even notice indirect inputs.

Because the British people themselves are direct communicators they are unlikely to understand everything more indirect communicating cultures are trying to convey via body language, examples, intonation etc.

At the same time, the British are less direct that other cultures and will when dealing with these cultures often feel they are not correctly understood and that people from the direct cultures are threatening or creating stress.

The even more interesting thing is that whilst the British (or any other culture in this situation) feel wronged by the more direct culture, only a few people will ever think that they themselves come across in the same manner to people less direct than them.

Background

To uncover why the British culture developed in this particular direction, we will discover a few hints in the history of the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world.

The Class Society

An aspect that influences the British communication style is the class society. While it is not as apparent as it was 50 years ago, it still exists on all levels in the British society and influences the lives of all the British people.

The Invasions and The Development of The British Language

The various invasions and the great number of invaders who stayed and settled in the British Isles have over the years influenced the language and communication style of the British.