Male Vs. Female Communication Styles

Understanding gender communication styles is necessary to avoid and resolve conflict situations.

An individual's communication style is dependant on a variety of factors including personality, family background, nationality and gender. Men and women have vastly different communication styles and respond to situations differently. As both genders increasingly interact in business and societal contexts, they must understand and respond to each other's unique communication styles to overcome communication gaps and achieve fruitful human interactions.

Rapport

Women communicate in a communal fashion that involves a consensus-based approach. When communicating, women ask questions, request input and build a rapport with female co-workers or women friends. Women are relationship-oriented and avoid social isolation by focusing on commonalities that connect, such as shared experiences.

Reporting

Men prefer to communicate by stating the facts. They simply share just the right amount of information that is required, no more, no less. Men choose to be problem-solvers, rather than ask questions or request input. In this way, men show off their expertise and aim to achieve social status.

Problem-Handling

Men handle most communication situations including problem-handling in a compartmental manner, whereas women use a global approach. These different approaches stem from the fact that women are emotionally-oriented and men are analytical-minded. Because of their cognitive approach, men do not communicate and share problems, unless there is an obvious need. Women on the other hand feel the need to talk about their problems and share them with others. Unlike men, when women experience problems with someone in a particular area, the problem tends to affect all other avenues of communication with the person.

Considerations

While we acknowledge the fact that gender differences do exist, we must be aware that some individuals do not display any of the communication traits that are synonymous with their gender. However, understanding the differences in gender communication styles should enable us to preempt and resolve possible communication conflict situations. To effectively communicate, you may also need to blend and acquire a mix of both the gender styles in certain work or personal communication environments.

References

• Simma Lieberman Associates: Differences In Male And Female Communication Styles
• Girl.com.au: Why Are Women So Strange And Men So Weird?
• Achieve Solutions: Male And Female Communication: Differences Worth Noting; Laurie M Stewart; 2005

Resources

• Cheryl Stephens.com: Communicating Across The Cultural Divide; Cheryl Stephens
• Homestar.org: You Just Don't Understand; Deborah Tannen; 1990