The Directness of Communication in Spain versus the United States

A stereotype that I heard about Spaniards throughout my time here was that they were more direct and straightforward, particularly compared with people from the United States. In fact, if I recall correctly, I heard it directly from my study abroad program during orientation, and a blog post (1) from their website mentions “the Spaniards way of being straightforward.” Moreover, even my Spanish professors confirmed a propensity for Spaniards to be more direct and straightforward. While this may be a case of confirmation bias, I have personally experienced some supporting evidence for this claim, as have others.
For example, Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs opens their article, “The Direct Etiquette of Spain,” with a mention of Spaniards’ tendency to be more bold in staring. My friend and I frequently received strong stares throughout our time here, ones that were shamelessly unbroken by eye contact. While we thought this may be due to us being somewhat of a social anomaly (that is, Asian), it was interesting to see that this article mentioned staring as a general component of Spaniards’ directness.
There are also examples in the way Spaniards make requests. For example, in the United States, when ordering something at a restaurant, you would probably say something along the lines of, “Can/Could I please have a. . .” However, in Spain, it is rare to begin a request with “puedo” or especially “podría” (3). This is not to say that Spaniards are rude, but again, seems to be a testament to their straightforwardness. (Personally, I find it refreshing; perhaps I have something to learn from them, and shouldn’t skirt around what I am trying to say as much.)

Regarding what we have discussed in class, Spain has a much higher Uncertainty Avoidance rating than the United States (4). This could be an explanation of, or at least correlate with, the cultural tendency to be more direct; instead of leaving things up in the air, Spaniards are direct to get the point and avoid uncertainty. However, it is crucial to note that defining a culture too strongly by stereotypes is detrimental to appreciating its unique facets and multidimensionality, and thus, these must be taken with a grain of salt.

References

1. https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/work/teach-english-abroad/blog/cultural-differences-between-spain-and-us

2. https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/posts/the-direct-etiquette-of-spain

3. https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/spanish-culture/spanish-culture-communication

4. https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/spain%2Cthe-us