Now Reading
11 Prevailing Gender Differences In The Communication Between Men and Women

11 Prevailing Gender Differences In The Communication Between Men and Women

11 Prevailing Gender Differences In The Communication Between Men and Women

Men and women often misunderstand each other due to the obvious difference in their communication. Although both of them try to make it easy for each other, it just doesn’t work. Why? Due to the gender difference, of course. Men and women have different ways of expressing their emotions, words, and feelings. It is this gender difference in the communication that often leads to the fight between a man and his wife, an employee and the boss etc. That is why the myth which says men are from mars and women from venus seems to be true in case of communication.

11 Prevailing Gender Differences In The Communication Between Men and Women

The difference with the opposite sex has always been there. If you have ever engaged in a debate or an argument with the opposite sex, then this gender difference in communication will make sense to you. Men find it hard to decode the meaning when a woman says, ‘I m fine’. They don’t know whether she literally means it or wants him to console her. The same way a woman doesn’t get it why men never speak about their feelings freely.

Knowing these gender differences will help you in better communication with your partner because you know communication is important for all kinds of relationship.

Different Leading Styles

Men and women often have different leading styles. Both of them have different decision styles and different ways of working. Gender difference definitely shows itself here. Men are known to be dominant in general, and they are more hierarchal. They stick to their decisions and they seem to have one man next to them, whom they trust a lot. They trust this person’s thought process and take his advice. Although women are known to be better managers, men don’t lack in the department. When it comes to women, they lead by consensus. They make it a point to come to a general agreement.

The Way Of Processing Information

 

Each one of us is different and all of us have our own ways of processing information and drawing conclusions. But in general, men and women have different ways of processing information. Men are known to be quiet and they process the information quietly in their minds, which is why we find women always assuming that men are unresponsive. Well, its just that men don’t like to share it all out, but they rather like to think it in their mind. On the other hand, women don’t think all of it in their mind but they speak it out loud.

Eye Contact

11 Prevailing Gender Differences In The Communication Between Men and Women

Eye contact is the strongest form of communication, but both men and women have gender differences in this too. Men and women differ in their eye contact behavior. Women are often considered to be shy and that’s why everyone thinks that men make more eye contact. But in reality, women make more eye contact directly. A woman always tries to build a relationship with anyone they met before they do anything else and so they maintain eye contact. Men are more dominant and they make eye contact to show who has upper hand.

The Touch

11 Prevailing Gender Differences In The Communication Between Men and Women

Do men and women touch differently? In what way? Well, think about it. How does a man react whenever he meets his friends? He will either directly go for a handshake or a hug. When he meets someone new, he will make the introductory handshake to set the tone of interaction. But when women meet someone new, you hardly find women shaking hands. They will wave at each other or directly go for a hug or a kiss on the cheek. They touch the shoulder of other women when they want to show support.

Men Prefer Point To Point Conversations

The first thing in which the gender difference prevails is while making conversation. Men don’t like to beat around the bush. They directly get to the point and they don’t like it when others do so. Even when in business meetings, they like to get to the matter in hand rather than speaking of the pleasantries. They use direct language. Women are not like that. They like to dwell deep into the topic. They like to know all the dimensions of the story. They like explaining things in detail. Well, you see that’s why woman are known to talk a lot.

Men Are More Task Oriented

11 Prevailing Gender Differences In The Communication Between Men and Women

No offense to the women out there but men often are more task oriented. Not that women don’t do tasks, they do but relatively less when compared to men. Men don’t feel the need to build a personal relationship with someone before establishing a business relationship. They strictly stick to business and be formal. They prefer completing tasks and moving on. But women like to build a relationship even in formal settings. They think it is rude to get the work done without any kind of conversation.

See Also

The Talking Habits

Despite the fact that women talk more, it is actually men who talk more when compared to women in a business setting. Women talk relatively less in a workplace setting as they try to maintain an equal talking time in the meeting. And do you know that men also have the habit of interrupting others while others are talking? They do. In a normal setting, women talk more than men and they are known to explain each and every single detail.

Women Are Known To Be Good Listeners

Now you know why women are good at gossiping. In general, women are good listeners; they pay attention when the other party is talking. Women also have the ability to remember the minor details as they think it will come handy in future. Men, on the other hand, are selective listeners. They tend to listen to things which they want to listen or they need. They let go of things that don’t seem relevant to them at the moment.

Women Rely More On Facial Expression

11 Prevailing Gender Differences In The Communication Between Men and Women

Facial expression is a form of nonverbal communication and women are a pro at it. They rely on facial expressions to know the emotions of people. They are even more expressive about their emotions and feelings. It is known that there are about 1000 facial expressions that humans have and woman use more of them. Men are just little less expressive in general and the gender differences are yet more prevalent even in case of nonverbal communication.

Women Are More Emotional And Empathetic

I’m not saying that men are not emotional and empathetic, they are. They are just not as expressive about it as women are. Women come off as empathetic because they are capable of showing and expressing their feelings. They don’t hesitate in crying either. But men are more closed off in public. Men don’t like to show their emotions, whatever the reason be. There are some who don’t even like a public display of affection but that doesn’t mean they don’t like affection, definitely not. They just don’t like public displays.

The Paralanguage

Paralanguage means communication through gestures, hesitations noises, and expressions. Basically the noises like ‘umm’, ‘oh’, ‘err’, ‘ugh’ etc. So women are more prone to use these in communication rather than men. Men use too, but rarely and they often go for words like ‘yes or no’ and such.

These are few gender differences in communication that can be observed all over. All of them are good and bad differences. There’s no comparison as to who’s better. This is just about how each gender communicates and perceives information. This is just to help you in understanding and improving your relations.

Scroll To Top