People who rely on wit and charm as their social lubricant need it.
I remember one place I worked had an exchange program between labs, we had a French girl in ours who seemed very shy and withdrawn, but the colleague who'd been to the French lab the year before (and was fluent in French) said she was an absolute riot and the soul of any party in France.
Very few french folks who live in France like to speak any other language, regardless of their objective level. Those who went abroad are better in this. The excuse is always the same - "my level is not so good" - which is mostly not true, they are perfectly understandable and speak fine. Maybe they don't like their accent, but this is not any blocker for a good conversation.
Very personal experience for past 8 years - living 2km from French border, surrounded by them day and night.
I was watching a basic italian video last weekend as I'm visiting Tuscany soon and the teacher made an excellent point that vocab matters so much more than grammar to begin with.
We'd all understand 'I the toilet need', and most languages have about 1000 everyday words, so just learn them and you'll be able to make yourself understood, don't worry about the grammar too much to begin with, or not at all if you're just travelling there.
Perhaps not so true of some languages, but certainly most Romantic and Germanic ones.
But we make up for it with our good looks and sporting ability! /s
While "charm" may not fit the stereotype of an HNer, I'd guess we're more likely than average to rely on communication to make a good impression. I, as an immigrant, certainly feel that I'm handicapped because humour and interesting conversation are all I have to offer on a first date!
I remember one place I worked had an exchange program between labs, we had a French girl in ours who seemed very shy and withdrawn, but the colleague who'd been to the French lab the year before (and was fluent in French) said she was an absolute riot and the soul of any party in France.