Monday, April 12, 2010

Gender Differences in Communication

It has been studied and researched that men and women communicate differently in numerous ways. The research and data that has been collected on this topic is not stereotypical. Some women are less likely to share the credit and some men are less likely to boast about their achievements. Also people's linguistic style influences perceptions about their confidence, competence, and authority. These differences may affect your future job assignments or job promotions. There are 10 differences found in the book. Some of them are the followin:
-Men are less likely to ask for information or directions in a public situation.
-In decision making, women are more likely to downplay their certainty; men are
more likely to downplay their doubts.

I did a little more research to try find some more differences. I found the following on www.associatedcontent.com written by Allison Vyncke:
-Women are more sensitive to others' feelings.
-Men show emotion to communicate dominance.
-Women show attentiveness through verbal and non-verbal cues. Many men avoid
these cues to keep from appearing “one-down.”

Vyncke, Allison. "Gender Differences in Communication." Associated Content. 30 Aug.
2006. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5434
/gender_differences_in_communication.html

2 comments:

  1. This was interesting to me and I completely agree. Men and women do communicate differently--not only in the workforce but in everyday life. This was something that I have observed, not only with the differences that my parents handle certain situations, but also the way my brothers and I handle situations.

    A good example of the decision making process differences would be the way that my brothers and I handled getting our mother's present for her birthday.

    She vaguely hinted months that she wanted perfume, and the four of us forgetful children were trying to remember what she wanted. I knew what it was, but because I didn't want to sound like I was rushing my brothers and get into an argument, I slightly pointed them to the perfume section and left it at that.

    My brothers, on the other hand, who completely did not know what my mother wanted, were just suggesting random gifts, saying that it was something that my mother asked, when clearly, they just had no idea what she wanted.

    After reading this article and recollecting what happened, it really does seem to me that men and women are different when it came to communication.

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  2. Understanding the differences in communication is something I'm sure all bosses or employees in the work world wish they had. Just as men wished they understood women better, I'm sure there are times women wish they understood exactly what a man is trying to say...sometimes. This is just something I guess we learn and deal with as humans.

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