![]() So, if talking things out directly tends to be the healthy, happy way to move through life, why do many people conceal their true thoughts and feelings in nonverbal expressions and cleverly crafted words and phrases? Cultural Influences on CommunicationĬhances are, the majority of people have heard someone at some point say, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” (Joyce 2012). Ultimately, having to analyze and infer the motives, meanings, and intentions of others discourages the growth of close relationships built on trust. And this, of course, lays the groundwork for making inaccurate guesses as to what an indirect communicator is trying to say. “Without direct, open patterns of communication, people cannot get to know each other successfully what they do not know, they will make guesses about,” the site says. Heitler adds, “The data given is insufficient, not enough information for the to be able to fix the problem and prevent it from happening again.”Īccording to the University of Washington’s Organizational Behavior Resources, the “guessing games” that result from indirect communication are another significant block to meaningful communication. He may simply come to believe that Tina dislikes him for no particular reason.Īnother common method of indirect communication that often falls short is the use of co-optive questions that start with words like “Isn’t it true that.?” or “Wouldn’t you rather.?” In the case of Tina and Carlos, perhaps Tina might indirectly express her desire to see Carlos eat elsewhere by saying, “Wouldn’t you rather sit in the break room and eat that?” or “Isn’t it true that most people eat their lunches in the kitchen?” This might be more likely to get the message across to Carlos, but it certainly does not foster feelings of trust or acceptance between the two coworkers.Īside from requiring extra effort on the part of the listener or recipient of the message, the lack of resolution in indirect communication has the potential to create longstanding issues.Īs Heitler says, “With indirect communication, whatever was a problem today is likely to be a problem tomorrow, the next week, and still in five years.” This is largely because while the person communicating indirectly may feel as though his or her facial tics and spells of silence are getting the message across, such nonverbal expressions are often lost on the listener. Carlos may hear the sighs and see Tina’s looks of displeasure, but he may not interpret these to mean that Tina is necessarily upset with the way he eats. Potential Difficulties of Indirect Communicationįor someone who is not accustomed to a particular culture, social group, or intimate partner’s way of communicating, it can be difficult to decipher the meaning of an indirect communication.įor instance, if Tina and Carlos are coworkers and Tina disapproves of Carlos’ eating habits at his desk but does not know how to communicate this directly to him, she may emit loud, exasperated sighs or glare at Carlos disapprovingly–examples of indirect communication. ![]() Indirect communicators, who tend to act out their feelings rather than say them directly, are typically looking to save face or to avoid situations of conflict, where they may experience uncomfortable amounts of tension and unrest (Joyce, 2012). Susan Heitler, PhD and Topic Expert, describes indirect communication as “hinting or acting out,” often with nonverbal behaviors like gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, pauses, or periods of silence. Indirect communication is acting out rather than directly saying what a person is thinking or feeling using facial expressions, tone of voice, and/or gestures. ![]()
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