The first part of this data analysis section seeks to answer the first part of RQ1, RQ 2a) and 3a). Against the backdrop of the then established patterns, I examine  the cross-cultural and cross-variational relationship between indirectness and politeness. The results presented in the first section about the perception of indirectness confirm the results found in Blum-Kulka’s study. Brown & Levinson’s categorisation of the different strategies on the continuum of directness also clearly applies to all examined speaker groups. Overall, the results, especially of the median values, are fairly stable; yet the detected differences prove that indirectness is not universally agreed on. In the second section, I examine politeness rankings. For both English and German speakers, the Preparatories are sandwiched between the two impolite groups (MD and Hints). Considering that the general patterns follow Blum-Kulka’s results, Brown & Levinson’s theory of a linear progression is disproven. Lastly, I examine how high or low levels of power and distance coincide with a difference in politeness perceptions of the request strategies where I specifically use S6 as an example of situational variation