Hey everyone and welcome back to another episode of the understandable English podcast.
I'm Oliver and today we will be talking about communication styles.
So how we communicate, how we speak to one another and the way that we do this.
We will be looking at some of the different communication styles and cultural differences.
So how different countries or cultures communicate.
So I hope this will be interesting for you.
Let's get started.
So in many countries around the world, we use a mix of direct and indirect communication.
What is this?
Direct communication is saying exactly and simply what you're thinking, so what you mean.
For example, you can say, I like your hair, or I don't like your haircut.
Indirect communication is not saying what you're thinking.
So instead, you use maybe body language or your voice to show what you're actually meaning.
So you're using everything else except your words, your word choice to say what you're meeting.
You're not being direct.
This can often be a problem for visitors or people who move to the UK, because we have quite an indirect style of communication.
Whereas other cultures, such as in Eastern Europe, even America Germany, they have direct forms of communication, or at least more direct than in the UK.
So to communicate effectively in Britain, so in the UK, with both friends colleagues family, it's important to understand the UK communication style.
This will help you to make a good impression and to deliver whatever you want to say in a way that gets the results that you want.
So we're going to look at some important features or traits, we can say.
Trait is a feature of British communication.
And then we'll look at each of these.
But it's important to remember that the UK is important, a big place and it's full of many different cultures.
This is a general overview of UK communication and it's not the reality for everyone.
We have people from so many different cultures and countries living here.
And even in different regions of the UK, people have different styles of communication.
So, for example, in Scotland we could consider the communication style to be more direct than it would be in the south of England.
But as I said before, in direct communication cultures, people like or tend to say what they think.
And this is transparency with their words.
But often in this case, they use less body language.
So maybe less facial expressions or less variation or changes in the tone of their voice.
So how they speak.
Whereas British people use a mix of direct and indirect communication.
And this can make it quite confusing.
And it can make British communication both direct and also vague.
So unclear, unclear, depending on the context.
And it's quite fair to say that British people tend to be direct whenever they communicate information that they don't think will offend or affect someone.
And they are more indirect, so less likely to say it directly when they communicate something which they think might upset someone or make them feel uncomfortable.
We have a phrase in the UK called to beat around the bush.
And this is when we kind of indirectly say something.
So we speak carefully without directly saying the point.
Let's take, for example, if you want to give someone feedback.
So they've done a task maybe an exam or a report or something in work and you want to give them feedback on this.
And there are things that you don't like.
So about that report, and you want to tell them.
Often, a British person will, rather than directly tell you all of the problems, they will first tell you what they liked, so all of the things they liked about your work and what you did, and then suggest maybe some improvements or areas to improve.
So they add the extra information, which is true, about what you have done, and then tell you the feedback or what they'd like you to change.
And in this way they feel like they are not going to upset you, that they're going to tell you the positives and the negatives.
So be aware of this.
The next biggest thing that affects British communication style is politeness.
Politeness.
So that is what we call manners.
So it's being polite and showing respect.
Respect is a big part of our culture here and it naturally affects our communication.
This goes back historically into British culture from the structure and the quite military country that we used to have in the past.
Often my wife is Russian and trying to explain British communication got me thinking about this topic.
And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.
And this politeness or respect is the biggest feature, I think, which affects the mind of every British person.
So, for example, even when making requests, people might say sorry, but I wondered if you could do this for me.
And it's a way of saying like, sorry, I bothered you.
I respect your time, but can you do this for me?
And also phrases such as please thank you, would you mind, it would be great if you could do this are really common here.
So if you don't say please or thank you, people might think oh, they were being a little bit rude, because it is the normal.
It is the expected behavior or the expected phrases.
And when you don't use them, it seems strange.
Another big factor of British communication, which might be strange to people from other cultures, is self-depreciation.
So what does that mean?
That's a complicated phrase.
And this means when you make a joke about yourself.
So it might seem like you're saying something negative about yourself.
But in our society, this is used to break down barriers and build trust between people.
So it is showing a more sensitive or private side about yourself.
And it's done with humor.
Humor is a huge aspect of our society.
I don't know how it happened, but we joke about almost anything and everything.
We joke about very negative situations.
We joke about positive situations.
And we use humor as a way of breaking those social barriers between people.
So in some cultures and countries, there are big social barriers.
Take for example, I lived in Russia and I think that people are very direct there and I like it.
I like direct communication and I got very used to it.
But the one big thing I notice is that in public, so not in private with friends or people you know There are huge social barriers, so the communication between people in public is a lot less and it's a lot less deep, or
There are more barriers to communicate.
People don't joke as much with each other in public.
They aren't as relaxed.
And in the UK we have not in every area, but in most areas outside of big cities we have a more relaxed environment socially because of humour and because of the ability to make jokes between each other and to communicate in a more indirect way.
Direct communication is great within a culture that has been built around direct communication.
There is no right or wrong way to communicate.
It is simply the society or the culture that we live in.
And the UK just happens to be a mixture, so a mix between the two.
So when you do visit the UK or if you have a friend or family member from here, do keep this in mind and maybe soften or not be as direct as you would be.
The same way, if I go to a direct speaking culture, I try to be more direct with what I want and what I need and how I express myself.
Although the Britishness inside of me finds it difficult when I hear direct, very direct communication that to me might seem to be rude in my culture.
I understand that it is not rude or offensive in their culture.
So I hope this topic was interesting and that you can understand the British communication style a little bit better.
And when you visit here, you can be careful about your communication style, but also understand why people are a little bit more indirect.
And it's those features of politeness, respect and humour which are the biggest factors, I think, in British communication.
Thank you for listening to this episode of the podcast and I hope you have a wonderful day.
Goodbye.
