Are English people less direct than other nationalities?

Posted by cosmicinaudio@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 250 comments

A common observation/sometimes criticism I hear from people from other countries is that the English are very indirect, won't say what we really think, don't ask personal questions to people we don't know well, reluctant to talk to strangers, etc. It's often said that the Dutch and Germans are particularly direct, but I've heard people of many nationalities say this about the English. Personally I don't think there really is a national trait in terms of directness in England, it's very dependent on individual personality, regional origin and social class. Some people are very direct while some are very indirect. Also, I think culturally a lot of English people are indifferent to strangers and not particularly interested in their lives or business, not inclined to want to talk to them, and I think people from other countries often interpret this as indirectness when it's not really.