I’m too Dutch for this kind of indirectness. Say it without the fluff and not in public and everything will be fine.
I love the Dutch 'no bollocking around' method, but it translates horribly to non-Dutch. Which is a real shame. With my Dutch friends, one colleague, I know exactly where I stand. Everyone/ everywhere else (often Americans, but the Brits are catching up), fluffs and huffs and puffs - and then start 'things' in the background.