). Women, because they have a cooperative approach, may offer advice even when that advice has not been sought. These basic differences can lead to some of the major communications problems between men and women. When women offer unsolicited advice to men, the men may feel as if their competence or ability is being questioned (vom Saal, unk.). On the other hand, when a man offers solutions to a woman, a woman may feel as if he is revealing a lack of empathy (vom Saal, unk.).
However, the emotions and motivations behind communication are only one part of the communication complex. Communication is more than simply what people say; it includes listening and non-verbal communication in addition to verbal communication. Women seem more cued to societal prompts signaling politeness. This means that women are more likely to listen to what another person is saying and are less likely to interrupt. Moreover, while listening, women are more likely to engage in active listening through the display of "attentiveness through verbal and non-verbal cues. Many men avoid these cues to keep from appearing 'one-down'" (Vyncke, 2006). While men may view the person in the listening role as the passive participant of the conversation, you cannot have communication without...
On the other hand, women may be so polite that they fail to ever interrupt, and end up not contributing anything to the conversation. What these differences make clear is that neither the traditionally-male or traditionally-female styles of communication are adequate in scenarios where inter-gender communication is necessary. Instead, people of both genders have to step out of their traditional roles and make an effort to communicate in a way that can be understood by people of either sex.
References
Miller, M. And Buchanan, H. (2008). Gender-based communication styles. Retrieved March 8,
2011 from Baby Shop Magazine. Website: http://www.babyshopmagazine.com/fall08/gender-based-communication-styles.htm
vom Saal, W. (unk.). Gender differences in communication styles. Retrieved March 8, 2011
from the State University of New York College at Oneonta
Website: http://employees.oneonta.edu/vomsaaw/w/psy257/handouts/gender_diffs_in_communication.htm
Vyncke, a. (2006). Gender differences in communication. Retrieved March 8, 2011 from Associated Content from Yahoo! Website: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/54347/gender_differences_in_communication.html?cat=41
