{"id":107,"date":"2026-10-02T06:45:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?post_type=ba_guide&#038;p=107"},"modified":"2026-10-02T06:45:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T06:45:22","slug":"dutch-directness-communication","status":"publish","type":"ba_guide","link":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/?ba_guide=dutch-directness-communication","title":{"rendered":"Dutch directness: how communication in the Netherlands really works"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ba-lead wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Dutch are direct\u201d is useful only if you understand what directness looks like in practice. Dutch communication often makes the core message explicit, but effectiveness still depends on relationship, setting, hierarchy and tone.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What newcomers often notice<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Feedback may arrive with less positive cushioning.<\/li><li>People may say that they disagree rather than hinting at it.<\/li><li>Questions about the practical problem can sound blunt when you expected sympathy first.<\/li><li>Meetings can contain open disagreement without the relationship necessarily being damaged.<\/li><\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Directness is not permission to be rude<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dutch norms still include respect, relevance and awareness of context. \u201cI am just being Dutch\u201d is not a universal excuse for insulting someone. Likewise, a Dutch person&#8217;s short answer should not automatically be interpreted as hostility.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Useful response strategy<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"ba-checklist wp-block-list\"><li>Listen for the substantive message before judging the packaging.<\/li><li>If something is unclear, ask a concrete follow-up question.<\/li><li>State your own position clearly rather than relying only on hints.<\/li><li>In feedback situations, ask what specifically should change.<\/li><li>If tone crosses your boundary, say so calmly and specifically.<\/li><\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Further reading<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Lekker Direct<\/strong> is specifically about Dutch communication and directness. Disclosure: the book was written by Borderless Advice founder Steven Gerrit. <strong>Stuff Dutch People Hate<\/strong> by Colleen Geske takes a humorous route into Dutch cultural irritations and habits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Affiliate note:<\/strong> All links are provided for your convenience and selected with your benefit in mind. A small selection of links may contain affiliate codes, from which we may earn a commission. This includes, but is not limited to, Amazon. This does not affect the price you pay.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s?k=Lekker+Direct+Dutch&#038;tag=linguistica05-20\" rel=\"sponsored nofollow\">Find Lekker Direct on Amazon<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s?k=Stuff+Dutch+People+Hate&#038;tag=linguistica05-20\" rel=\"sponsored nofollow\">Find Stuff Dutch People Hate on Amazon<\/a><\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to interpret and respond to Dutch direct communication at work and in everyday life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","ba_country":[2],"ba_topic":[164,136,162],"ba_audience":[17],"ba_section":[23,20,21],"ba_stage":[28,30],"ba_location":[],"class_list":["post-107","ba_guide","type-ba_guide","status-publish","hentry","ba_country-netherlands","ba_topic-dutch-books","ba_topic-dutch-culture","ba_topic-dutch-directness","ba_audience-residents","ba_section-language-culture","ba_section-living","ba_section-work-business-section","ba_stage-getting-established","ba_stage-living-stage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/ba_guide"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/ba_guide\/107\/revisions\/108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ba_country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_country&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"ba_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_topic&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"ba_audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_audience&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"ba_section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_section&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"ba_stage","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_stage&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"ba_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessadvice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fba_location&post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}