Communication Men vs. Woman

7/31/2019 Communication Men vs. Woman

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Men Women

Key Points Full Context

Headlines Complete Article

Report Talk Rapport Talk

Connect through CompetitionOne-UpOne-DownPut-Down

Connect through AffinitySame-Same

Scoop

Gift ExchangeFacts and Features

Stories and Personal Details

Source: Marketing to Women, Dearborn

How do men and women think differently?

Men think compartmentally and women think globally. Men tend to mentally separate

and store information in very organized yet completely separate compartments, like

in a file-cabinet-drawer system. Things such as Work, Hobbies, Wife, Sex, etc. are

kept in distinctly different compartments or files, staying exclusively within that

compartment until its time to close the drawer and open the next one. Ladies, if

you have ever called your husband at work asking him to pick something up from the

grocery store on his way home, only for him to arrive empty-handed, its because he

was exclusively working within the framework of his work compartment where

nothing else exists but the job at hand.

Women tend to do the complete opposite, cognitively connecting things up, seeing

lifes events more globally. Women see how details and information relate to eachother, with their inherent underlying and interrelated connections. Men, have you

ever gotten into a disagreement with your wife where she brings things up that

happened many months ago? Thats because she thinks globally, and sees the

connection between the current topic in the argument with the previous one. Both

ways of thinking are great ways of thinking, compartmental and global, but put them

together in the same relationship and things start getting very interesting.

How do men and women speak differently?

Men speak to report facts in short phrases with little or no details, whereas women

speak in paragraphs tobuild rapport with lots of details. Men want and need thebottom line first and foremost, followed up with more details now that their need for

the bottom line has been met. Women want and need to build up to the bottom line,

as their enjoyment comes from telling the story. The enjoyment women find in the

telling of the story leading up the bottom line often becomes very frustrating for men,

which often leads to disagreements. To communicate effectively with those of the

opposite sex, it is necessary to change your approach, by women fulfilling the mans

need for the bottom line first and men fulfilling the womans need by giving more


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details.

Bridging the communication gap between men and women goes far beyond theobvious. On average, women use 25,500 words in a day while men use about 12,500

in a day. A man using 12,495 words during an average work day comes home with

only five words left, Whats for dinner? (thats three!) and Good Night (thats

five!). On average, women maintain eye contact while speaking for twelve seconds

vs. a man maintaining eye contact for three seconds. Change your approach by

balancing the needed eye contact and number of words spoken, you will find

disagreements and hurt feelings will be exponentially minimized.

How do men and women decide differently?

Women have been taught since childhood to use hint language when asking forsomething she wants or needs. Unfortunately, men do not often get the hint, due to

the fact that men tend to take language very literally, focusing attention on the

context of the message rather than hidden meanings. Remember to speak THEIR

language not your own, being direct in an assertive and respectful manner,

understanding that when it comes to communication differences between men and

women and bridging the communication gap, delivery is everything.

Read more: http://marital-

communication.suite101.com/article.cfm/communication_amongst_the_sexes#ixzz0XjNXt7PG

Strengths Associated with Women at Work

Harmony Balance Nurturance, serenity, creativity and vision

Teamwork and collaboration

Detail oriented

Strengths Associated with Men at Work

Goal orientation

Tangible accomplishments

Problem solving

Singleness of purpose

Responsiveness to challenge
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Gender Communication Differences and Strategies

What can your organization do to create more equality for men and women? The first stepto creating equality is understanding the different strengths and styles that different

genders bring to the work table. Oftentimes men and women use different processes fordecision making and leadership. Here are some common ways that men and women differ:

1. Attitude towards tasks vs. relationships. Women tend to be more relationshiporiented and accomplish tasks by building relationships first. They then know

who to ask and are comfortable asking others to get things done. Men tend tobe more task oriented and go straight to the task. They build their

relationships when they are in the task or project.

2. Way of Processing Information. When women have to make a decision they

will often process and look at options out loud while men tend to processinternally until they come up with a solution. Women often think that the man

is being unresponsive to suggestions because of this and men often think thatwomen are looking for approval when they process out loud or don't know

what they are doing. Some men think that a woman's way of processing is asign of weakness.

3. Leadership Style. Because women are more relationship oriented, they tend

to lead by consensus. Men tend to be more hierarchical and include only the

people closest to them at their level in the decision making process when theythink it is necessary.

4. Communication Styles. In non-verbal behavior women will nod their head toshow that they are listening. Men leave the conversation thinking that a head

nod means agreement and will be surprised to find out that the woman didn'tagree at all. When a woman is speaking to a man and he does not say

anything and stays in neutral body language to show that he is listening, a

woman will interpret that as the man being bored or not understanding whatshe is saying. This can lead the woman to become very uncomfortable andrepeat what she is saying or ask the man each time if he understands what

she is saying. The man then interprets that as insecurity, or talking to muchand which then lead him to think she is not assertive or confident to be a

leader. Women will actually use more direct eye contact in conversation tocreate relationship and connection while many men take that as a challenge

to their power or position. Women will also approach a man from the frontwhile men often approach from the side at an angle, which is how each of

them tends to stand or sit when talking to others. Men interpret the face toface as too personal, or aggressive and women will interpret the talking side

to side as though he is not being upfront or even hiding something from her.

5. Talk time. Men take up more time and space at meetings, while women try to

make sure there is more equality in the room. Despite stereotypes to thecontrary studies have shown that men talk more then women. Men interrupt

women and talk over them much more that women interrupt men. All of thiscan lead to the type of miscommunication based on assumptions of why

member of the other sex are using certain verbal and non-verbal behaviors.These miscommunications can result in team breakdown, people not listening

to each other and loss of good ideas.

How different styles lead to workplace disparity


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While most women are in the workforce full time, there is still bias amongst certain men inleadership roles that stop women from moving ahead. This bias can include the following

ideas:

1. That there is only one style or way to lead and that is the more

hierarchical one.

2. That most women can't be leaders because they are not "strategic."

3. Because many of these men are married to women who work in thehome, they have a harder time conceiving of women running

organizations, and therefore are not as objective when making hiring andpromotion decisions.

4. There is an unconscious belief that women are not in the workforce ona permanent basis and don't really want to move up or stay.

Strategies to Bridge Gender Differences and Value Diverse Styles

If you grasp the importance of effective gender communications and gender equality in the

workplace, then start making a difference today using the following gender communicationstrategies.

1. Take these facts with a grain of salt. It's important not to use this informationto stereotype all men or all women. Of course not everyone fits these

generalizations. These are cultural norms based on research that showed thata large majority of men and women display some of these characteristics.

Some of these behaviors are based on acculturation and learning and some ofthem are based on how our brains work.

2. Stay aware. Both men and women need to be aware of each others styles ofcommunication both verbal and non-verbal in order to avoid

miscommunication and work better together.

3. Be aware of unconscious stereotypes and biases and be open to breaking past

them in order to leverage each others strengths.

4. Recognize that many different styles of leadership can be effective.

5. Men, be aware of how much time and space in meetings or group interaction.Make room for the contributions of women. When asked for a decision by a

women or for your opinion if you are an internal processor, let her know youare in process of thinking about it so she knows she is heard.

6. Women, get comfortable asserting more space for yourself. When dealing

with men in decision making, try to stop yourself from processing out loud. Ifyou do process out loud, let the man know that this is a process you use for

decision making and you are not asking him what to do.

7. Finally, GetInformation. Learn about male and female styles ofcommunication and be able to use both. You need both to deal with the

complexity and diversity of situations in today's world both personally andprofessionally. Don't be afraid to recognize differences. Once you do that it

will be easier to have open discussions in order to find similarities and usethose differences to achieve greater goals together.

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Communication Men vs. Woman