BBC Reel editor Melissa Hogenboom was born in the Netherlands but grew up in the UK. Noticing the two extremes between British politeness and Dutch directness, she explores how much truth there is to the stereotype that Dutch people are direct.
Produced and reported by Melissa Hogenboom
Filmed and directed by Michelle Potters
Edit by Bas Govers
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Iluminada van Wiederen 
Deborah Wessel 
Pamela Chatfield
The thing is, "the message is really precise and clear" is dubious. EVERYONE understands things from their own perspective. As a foreigner living in the Netherlands I agree with a comment made below that the Dutch "sometimes hide behind the stereotype as an excuse for being tactless or not expressing themselves carefully. You can be direct and still care about other people's feelings". Not only that, they are very individualistic so this thing of being direct to seek consensus is VERY dubious. They are often rude and don't accept other people's point of view, but claim that this is due to their directness. It is not. I know Dutch people who (indirectly!) excuse themselves when being rude by saying "I'm very direct"; in my opinion, if you know that someone needs to bear with your directness because it is not nice, then there is something wrong with your behavior, which does not take others into account.
It landed me in some very uncomfortable situations during my first couple of years in Canada. P=I learned that people sometimes need to be lied to….
Comment on the last sentence : "A Dutch person will expect an invite. " maybe but they will hardly ever invite you back …
I appreciate both modes of communication: indirect for EIQ training; amd direct for how communication in real life should be conducted by and large.
I used to live in Germany and they were like the Dutch people. Well, they are neighbors. And they were always brutally honest. Lol But I was used to that honesty.
Now I am living in the US. People are much nicer and super friendly, but I cannot trust them.
Well, I don't know exactly what they really think about me..
As estate agent in Spain, I luuuuved the Dutch.
British clients could praise a house for hours, in order to be polite – and then back in the car could drill that house into the ground.
Whereas the Dutch would immediately say in the nicest possible way that the property was not for them, always respecting the owners and property.
That pleasant transparancy went on through the whole purchasing process.
how interesting, so there IS a neurodivergent nation – i wish i'd known about it sooner! 😅
Sounds like it would be much easier to live in the Netherlands if you have autism
Ek het n redelike klomp DNA wat ek deel met Nederlanders. Ek woon in Suid Afrika. My voorsate reeds vir 334 jaar hier. Nederlanders is eenvoudig bombasties en totaal bewusteloos teenoor ander. Meer arrogant en erger as die Duitsers
eek! i'm afraid of visiting there… i'm very used to having a verbal exchange where the actual meaning is hidden in every sentence… 🙂
Although I was born and grew up in Maine and am supposed to be Irish/English/French I must be reincarnated from a Dutch person. I've always struggled with others "reading between the lines" in what I say, leaving me to say I say what I mean and mean what I say. There are no lines to read between. Kind and polite but honest and clear. I must be Dutch!!
you guys have a lot in common with Russians, even dark humor
I love Amsterdam. It’s one of the cities I went to the most at the very beginning of adulthood, one of the places where I made the most memories. Good choice. In Canada, when people were too nice I always wondered if there’s something on my face
very nice autistic culture suits me
The Dutch are normal.
The Brits are full of bullshit.
Tried watching this video but it’s just full of arrogant Dutch people explaining the problem with other cultures and giving excuses for their own. Dutch people tend to be assholes and videos like this don’t explain away their attitude as simply being a misunderstanding because they’re supposedly direct.
As an autistic person, Dutch culture sounds like a dream come true. I hate it when people don't say what they mean.