Gender Communications for Many Years

Gender Communications

For many years there have studies on how men and women communicate. There is always the question of why he/she doesn't listen or doesn't understand what the other is saying. Research is always trying to find way to bridge that gender gap.

In most cases it is said that the way men and women communicate so differently from one another that they must come from another planet.

Even though the communication styles are so different and the barrier seems quite large, both genders are sentimental, caring, aggressive, they think, they have emotions and intellect, they are after all human.

One of the most important factors is based on the way men and women perceive the same message to have a different meaning.

Women are known to be more sensitive to the meanings and they "read between the lines." (Gender Issues: Communication Differences in Interpersonal Relationships)

This often makes women responsible for initiating intimacy or how close they will allow a person to become to them. For this reason it is argued that women pay more attention as to what men are saying and what is being implied. Women tend to focus on the similarities among themselves and others and try to make everyone happy. Women are more in tune to relationships and being in touch with their emotions and the emotions of others making them more consensus. They are the "rapport talkers," which refers to the types of communications that build, maintain and strengthen relationships. (Gender

Issues: Communication Differences in Interpersonal Relationships) This type of "rapport talk" reflects the skills of talking, nurturing, empathy and support. When making decisions women tend to look at all the options, weighing the pros and the cons of the situation before acting.

In a nonverbal sense women tend to use body language and "read" body language to show that they are listening and acknowledging what is being said. During verbal conversations women will maintain eye contact to create a connection to whomever they are talking to. Women will also approach a man from the front, walking or talking directly in front of them and is the same gesture when they sit or stand while talking to another.

In the differences with communications between men and women, men tend to be more "status bound." Men are more "who's who by society" or " I am man" (Gender

Issues: Communication Differences in Interpersonal Relationships). Instead of "reading between the lines" as women do, men are "between the lines meaning." Men expect relationships to be based on independence and competition. Men will focus on the difference between themselves and others and make their decisions on their needs and desires. Men see themselves as tasks specialists. (Gender Issues: Communication

Differences in Interpersonal Relationships)

Men are more focused on accomplishing tasks and addressing questions about facts. They are "report talkers," unlike women when stated earlier, being "rapport talkers." Report talk refers to the types of communication that analyzes the issues and solves problems. Report talk reflects skills on being competitive, lacking skills in sentimentality, analyzing and focusing aggressively on task accomplishments. To be more specific, women will deal with issues by talking about them and sharing their feelings and experiences. Men however, deal with issues by seeing the facts and finding solutions. Men would rather solve the issue instead of talking about it. In this sense, men are frustrated by the women's need for emotion and empathy and women feel put down by the man's lack of empathy or being able to emotionally relate.

In making decisions, men will confide in those they feel closest to at their level and only when they feel it is necessary. Men tend to talk more than women do and have habit of talking over them or interrupting them when they are speaking.

In the nonverbal sense, some the differences from men and women are the majority of men do not interpret body language, a nod from a woman means to a man that she agrees with what he is saying and that she is listening to what he is saying. (Gender

Communication Differences and Strategies) A man has neutral body language to show he I listening and a woman would interpret that as to a man being bored by what she is saying. Many men will use less direct eye contact and assume that a woman's direct eye contact is sign of a challenge or a power play. Men will stand or sit at angle or to the side when talking to someone, feeling being face-to-face as being too personal or aggressive. Studies show men talk more than women. (Gender Communication

Differences and Strategies) Men will talk over women when they are speaking or interrupt them more than women do.

Of course there is always the medical research in the communication barriers within men and women. Scientific research has found differences between the brains of men and women. (Why Men and Women Communicate Differently)

While it's not completely clear how the structural differences in male and female brains affect their function, scientists theorize that the most likely impact is upon the way men and women process information."

Studies show that on an average a man's brain is 10% larger than a woman's and have 4% more brain cells than a woman's as well. However, women's brains have more nerve cells and cellular connections, which allows the smaller brain to be more efficient and effective. The left side of a man's brain tends to dominate more than the right. The left side is the logical/rational side of the brain. However, a woman uses both sides of her brain. Her brain is larger corpus callosum, women can transfer data between the right and left hemispheres faster than men. In this finding it does explain why men tend to approach communication with a task orientation and women tend to be more creative and aware of their feeling during the communication process.