INDIRECT COMMUNICATION: CHARACTERISTICS, TYPES, EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The indirect communication is a way of transmitting information in which a person acts for others to understand what they think or feel rather than speak directly. It is generally used as an attempt to persuade others to act as you want, although it does not always have to be negative.

In indirect communication, the person uses elements such as their tone of voice, their gestures, their facial movements, their posture and their body language to make the interlocutor understand what they want to convey. In fact, on some occasions it is possible that the individual transmits something completely different indirectly from what she is communicating aloud.

Indirect communication uses body language

Indirect communication can occur for many different reasons. Sometimes the person simply does not want to feel rejected and believes that if they said what they think out loud they would suffer negative consequences. In other cases, the individual has a passive-aggressive communication style, and uses this method in a preferential way.

Indirect communication usually has quite negative consequences on the personal relationships of those who use it. This is because when using it, the interlocutor cannot know for sure what is the message that the other person wants to convey. However, on some occasions it can be very useful.

Indirect communication characteristics

Indirect communication can occur for many different reasons, but whenever it appears, it presents a series of characteristics that make it very easily recognizable. Next we will see which are the most important.

- Contradictory verbal and non-verbal information

According to communication experts, any exchange of information can take place in two ways: verbal and non-verbal. The first has to do with the words we use, while the second is more related to our gestures, our tone of voice, our facial expressions and our body language.

In most communication scenarios, the verbal and non-verbal parts are aligned to convey a message in the most efficient way possible. However, in indirect communication, the usual thing is that a message is transmitted through words, and a different one non-verbally.

This tends to be quite a serious communication problem, as most interlocutors expect the sender to be communicating directly and will have trouble understanding the true meaning of the message. However, in some cultures it is common to communicate indirectly, so this difficulty would not appear.

- The sender believes that he is transmitting his message

But why would someone communicate in a way that prevents the transmission of information correctly? The reality is that in most cases, the person using this strategy believes that the interlocutor will be able to read the subtext and understand what she is really trying to say.

The problem is that in most cases, the receiver tends to stay with the information transmitted verbally and not indirectly. As a consequence, misunderstandings often appear between the two parts of the communicative process, and the sender tends to get frustrated by not being able to make himself understood by his interlocutor.

- Avoidant intention

According to all the studies carried out on indirect communication, this style of transmitting information has the main objective of avoiding offending the interlocutor or disturbing him in any way. Therefore, it occurs more commonly in cultures that place great emphasis on emotional care for other individuals.

In direct communication, the most important objective is the transmission of information in a clear and understandable way by everyone, even at the risk of offending the other person. In the indirect, on the contrary, a greater weight is placed on the protection of the emotions, and therefore the clarity and effectiveness of the communication is downplayed.

Types of indirect communication

Indirect communication can occur mainly in two different ways: culturally and individually. Next we will see what are the differences between these two phenomena.

On a cultural level

According to research carried out in the field of cross-cultural psychology, one of the factors that most differentiates some societies from others is the way in which their members communicate. In this sense, we can find some in which direct communication is more common, and others that favor indirect communication.

For example, many Asian cultures prefer to use indirect communication because they place great emphasis on protecting the feelings of others and avoiding embarrassment and social discomfort at all costs. This is the opposite of what happens in cultures such as Europe, in which the most common is to use a direct and clear communication style.

When indirect communication occurs in a culture where everyone uses it, most of its disadvantages disappear. This is because the interlocutors belonging to the same company will not have problems understanding what is really being transmitted.

At the individual level

The other case in which indirect communication can occur is at the individual level; that is, in a person who belongs to a culture that favors direct communication, but who prefers to use this other strategy. In this situation, there are usually many disadvantages in the exchange of information.

People who use an indirect style tend to have a passive - aggressive way of communicating. This means that they do not clearly convey their needs but become hostile when others do not meet them.

Unfortunately, this strategy does not usually work for any of those involved in the communication process, and it can cause many problems in the personal relationships of those affected.

Examples

Here are some examples of indirect communication:

- Change the subject in front of a question instead of making it clear that we do not want to answer it.

- Avoid a confrontation, for example not talking to a person with whom we have a pending conflict.

- Say the opposite of what we really want to convey, but with a tone of voice that can give a clue as to what our true feelings are.

References

1. "Indirect Communication and How It Affects Relationships" in: Marriage. Retrieved on: March 08, 2020 from Marriage: marriage.com.
2. "Indirect communication" in: Good Therapy. Retrieved on: March 08, 2020 from Good Therapy: goodtherapy.org.
3. “Direct Communication vs. Indirect Communication ”in: Watershed Associates. Retrieved on: March 08, 2020 from Watershed Associates: watershedassociates.com.
4. "Direct and indirect communication styles" in: Linkedin. Retrieved on: March 08, 2020 from Linkedin: linkedin.com.
5. "Direct and indirect communication" in: Eidam & Partner. Retrieved on: March 08, 2020 from Eidam & Partner: blog.eidam-und-partner.de.