What I Noticed When Communicating with People from India — and ChatGPT’s Take on It

I’ve been talking to a few business contacts from India lately — mostly on LinkedIn.
And something caught my attention:
Many of them don’t use greetings or closing lines, and their replies often come as short fragments instead of full sentences.

At first, I thought they do not value me or they do not have the time.

In the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), that would come across as abrupt, even impolite.
Here, a professional message usually follows a clear structure:

Greeting – main point – closing – signature

For example:

Good morning Mr. Meier,
thank you for your message. I’ll send the documents tomorrow.
Kind regards,
Anna Weber

It’s a small thing, but in this part of the world, form equals respect.
We show reliability and professionalism not just through what we say, but how we say it.

So I asked ChatGPT what’s behind this difference — and the answer made perfect sense.

In India, it’s not about being impolite — it’s about being efficient.

Here’s what’s going on, in short:

1. Function over form.
   Messages are meant to move work forward, not to perform courtesy.
   “Need file today” is a valid, professional message. It saves time.

2. English as a working tool.
   It’s often a second or third language, used to communicate fast, not to impress with nuance.

3. Platform culture.
   LinkedIn in India is a semi-informal, business-chat environment — more like WhatsApp for professionals.

4. Time pressure.
   Many handle huge workloads and mobile-first communication, where brevity is a form of efficiency.

In short: different priorities, not different manners.

What that means for both sides

If you’re from the DACH region:

• Don’t take short or fragmentary messages personally.
  They’re not rude — just practical.

If you’re reaching out to DACH contacts:

• Use greetings and closings.

• Write full sentences, even if short ones.

• Clarity and structure are read as professionalism here.

• “Hello Ms. Weber” and “Best regards” go a long way.

Final thought

I will take every message as positive or neutral. So, wherever you are from keep your form of communication.

Secondly, this is exactly why I chose this path to translate cultural differences and get you the right start.