Introduction
Communication plays a huge role in our society. It allows us to not only get others to understand us, but to understand others as well. While each individual’s ability to communicate and use language is partially based on our families as well as the environment that we grow up in there is a more fundamental aspect to ourselves that impacts how we communicate and use language, our gender. Both men and women communicate differently, these differences can be seen both in our personal and professional lives. It is important for us to understand how we communicate with each other in order to find success.
Man
Short, Sweet, and to the Point
Ever heard the phrase “short, sweet, and to the point.”? Men typically avoid using language as an outlet for emotion. The results are what many would expect, a short conversation that will end with similar results as a long drawn out conversation. Men take the “fluff” out of a conversation and condense it down as much as possible. Typically you will find that men like to use action to show their emotion, making the need for a lot of words less. The communication is still there, but it is in a different form. A man who has a lot of things on his mind may choose to take a jog or another physical activity to work through his thoughts, whereas a woman will likely chose to sit down and talk through what they are thinking about. You’ll find that men communicate as many would consider more efficiently than women, but this may not always be true.
How should you Approach a Man
When talking to a man be prepared to get right to the point. The idea is that the conversation focuses on the main aspects without a lot of extra conversation that may be perceived as unnecessary. Focus on the topic at...
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... that our messages have on one another. To hold the attention of men you need to limit the amount of communication that you're doing. The message that you convey should be short, sweet, and to the point. Whereas women prefer to hear all of the details to better understand what is being communicated. Neither communication preference is right or wrong nor is there a line drawn in the sand stating ALL men must communicate on way as well as ALL women must communicate another way, but a better understanding allows us to find a cohesive way to communicate at home and at work.
Works Cited
Kornheiser, T. (2013). No Detail Is Too Small for Girls Answering a Simple Question. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA: Pearson.
Learning Seed. (2009). Gender and Communication. Retrieved from Focus International: http://www.focusintl.com/GD137-%20Gender_and_communication_guide.pdf
In her article “But What Do You Mean” Deborah Tannen, claims that there is a huge difference in the style of communicating between men and women. Tannen breaks these down into seven different categories; apologies, criticism, thank-yous, fighting, praise, complaints, and jokes. With each of these she compares men to women by explaining the common misconceptions that each of the genders do. The different style of communication can cause some problems at the workplace and even affect the environment. The different styles of communication has been around forever and almost becomes a “ritual”(299). Tannen is effective with mainly women and not men. She is primarily successful with women due to the fact that her tone targets women, also the organization
Steven Pinker distinguishes the difference between talking to man and women. Pinker showed a lady that was comfortable talking to another lady and the lady became angry when her talking to a man, not women (Pinker 2007 .p112, 113). People used intricacies method to achieve their needs and emotion instead of saying what they need to say directly. (Pinker 2007 .p113) Furthermore, even in a sexual situation, people twist and turn around and turn around their words. For example, “would you like to come up and see my etching?” (Pinker 2007.p113) Moreover, people use a kind word to order something from someone else without making a demand to the receiver or using indirect speeches to avoid a problem that may happen by mistake. (Pinker, 2007
Do men and women effectively communicate in the same way, or is it just a conversation of misunderstanding? There is constantly a new interest in whether men and women converse successfully. Professor and journalist, Deborah Tannen writes, “Sex, Lies, and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Tannen compares and contrasts all conversational styles, and explains how the expectation of dialogue affects how men and women converse. Tannen focuses on the subject of marriage and the imbalance of interest between male and female couples. The contrasting perspective however comes from, Deborah Cameron, author of, “What Language Barrier”. Cameron conveys that the stereotypes left upon male and female communication
The retrenchment of African American women’s freedom was arguably one of the most polarizing events of the 1880s that caused moral and ethical dissent between black men and women. The lack of leadership roles given to women in various religious, and political groups, led to the creation of the Black Women's (convention) Club Movement. With men in control of the religious sphere, the convention allowed women to attempt to do a better job than the men. The intersectionality of gender and religion by means of analysis provides the patriarchal notions of masculinity a multi-faceted platform to analyze Marcus Garvey, Father Divine, and the role women played in each of their strategies. In the analysis of these two characters it becomes clear that they are not as different as they may initially seem, ultimately not undermining Deborah Grey’s notion that .
Deborah Tannen is the author of the book You Just Don't Understand where she analyzes the different meanings of communication between men and women. Her research shows that women and men use the same words and phrases and yet can interpret and react to those same words and phrases differently. Tannen compares the two sexes to find men use their conversation as a type of competition or to preserve their independence. For example, men talk about their knowledge regarding sports, cars, women, exc. Meanwhile, women try to foster intimacy through communication. For instance, women often talk and relate on a personal level. Throughout Tannen's book she uses "cross-cultural communication" to describe the differences between the language of men and women. Tannen observed that, "For males, conversation is the way you negotiate your status in the group and keep people from pushing you around; you use talk to preserve your independence. Females, on the other hand, use conversation to negotiate closeness and intimacy; talk is the essence of intimacy, so being best friends means sitting and talking. For boys, activities, doing things together, are central. Just sitting and talking is not an essential part of friendship. They're friends with the boys they do things with" (Tannen 95).
...ind this to be a typical male trait. Our surveys and research found however, that these types of traits are normally associated with men within the business world. Through our research, we found that in a male dominated society, adapt to the male styles of communication. As we have previously stated, the styles of communication between genders differ greatly. Men tend to use conversation to obtain data whereas women use conversation to create connections. Through our research, we also came up with some solutions for bridging the communication gaps between males and females. To reduce miscommunication, males and females must learn to interpret the messages being sent to them. They must learn to understand the speakers' motives and background. In effective communication, one must realize the experiences of the speaker and listener, and work to create a common understanding of the messages being created. Males should try to understand the female need for connection whereas females need to understand the male need for data. If the two cultures can learn to combine their styles by offering information while creating a connection, the male and female communication gap will be bridged.
Sex are differences between men and women in terms of communication may be differences in how to interpret and everything starts from an early age.
Bad Choosers By K. L. Casado The tired cliché has rung throughout the halls of maternity wards and law firms for years. "The Battle of the Sexes" as it is called; the everlasting struggle for supremacy among men and women. However, in the wider scope of events, how easy one's life is would ideally be more important than how supreme one is.
Further evidence of communicative differences exist between men and women in various other social settings as well. Consider, for example, those individuals employed in customer service-related Jobs. While in JC Penny, I noticed that female customer service representatives were more apt to offer immediate friendly assistance than the male reps. Men are not as cocky nor as confident in this sort of situation; their eyes tend to dart around the area of the store while the eyes of a women remain focused upon the eyes of the customer. The men seem to communicate with a lot less smiles. Apparently they have to get past a certain “ice-breaking'; point before they will feel comfortable with a genuine look of happiness.
...a meaningful communication to take place. In conclusion, there are differences between men and women that go beyond social nurture. These differences have their origin in their genes. The differences evident in men and women are translated in their behavior and communication. There are possibilities of these differences in their turn raising the problem of failing to understand one another because in a communication men and women have a different set of expectations from each other. It is essential to understand and appreciate these differences for a meaningful communication to take place.
More often times than not, men are fixated on image or their ego. So much so that they tend to lack the appropriate communication skills that are needed in order to sucessfully communicate with the opposite sex effectively. On the other side of this, women are much more intuitive and more emotionally connected. Even though women can have an agressive side to them, most people, including myself tend to associate a women with kindness, warmth, and affection. Maybe it has something to do with learning these atributes from the first woman
The average worker spends two-thousand and eighty hours a year at their place of employment. Communication within the workplace is often overlooked or not given as much importance as most people should allow, given the amount of time that is spent there. Beyond the more basic verbal speech, one must be aware of the nonverbal symbols and noise that can have an effect on communication. There are also cultural, environmental and internal factors that can effect communication and how successful it can be. The various perceptions that an individual has developed over their life can also effect communication. One’s ability to communicate effectively will determine the success and enjoyment that is to come from their job.
I do not pretend to be a complete expert in the vast world of men and women. However, as one of these creatures, I decided early on in life to do my best to figure out the relationship between us and our counterparts. This was very interesting to me because, unlike most people, I do not believe that we simply "evolved" to become what we are today. I believe we were created the way we are by a very big God who knew what He was doing, and did it for a purpose. After a mere 18 years of observation, I have concluded that we as humans are trying to look too deeply into the purpose of "man" and "woman." We make the relationship too complicated. We need to stop prying into why men like football and women like quilts, and simply accept that we do. That is the way it is. And as I shall point out, that is the way it is best.
Battle of the Sexes is one of the turning points in the history not just for women’s sports but also for women’s rights. This was a tennis match in between a male player, Bobby Riggs, and a female player, Billie Jean King. Riggs, who was called “the male chauvinist pig”, was 55 years old and King was 29 years old at the time of the match. Riggs was addicted to gambling and saw an opportunity to make some money and to gain popularity out of this match while showing the world that women are not as good as men. However, King was in a movement that wanted to show the world the exact opposite.
We all know that men and women are different. They look different, act different, walk, talk, and even smell different. In part, the simple fact that we are different explains why we sometimes have trouble communicating with and understanding the opposite sex. However, a close look at our language may show that there is more to the communication barrier between the sexes than meets the eye.