Cultural contexts --- are notorious for misinterpretation. In high-context societies, the intent of the message may be couched in stories, where one has to ruminate on what the possible meaning might be. They are deliberately indirect so nobody loses face. In other cultures, the US for example, where they are low-context - "Say what you mean and mean what you say." "No time for beating around the bush," being direct is seen as a virtue and indirect messages are oftentimes misunderstood leading to conflict...this is particularly detrimental in negotiations.

Source author: Marie Betts-Johnson mbj@ipicalifornia.com