Differences in Male-Female Communication

It is the process through which meanings are exchanged between individuals. When individuals feel understood, they have communicated effectively: They are in control of events, other people trust and respect them, and in work settings, they feel valued. Communicating effectively enhances health and self-esteem, nurtures relationships and helps people maintain good mental health.

FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

When individuals do not communicate well, they feel misunderstood, frustrated, distressed, defensive and often hostile, all of which increase their stress level. Faults and flaws in communication habits, as well as communication gaps, cause stress too many people and those with whom they interact on all levels, from the most intimate to the most distant of acquaintances. People who don’t communicate effectively are more vulnerable to disease: they can be hostile and confrontational, and they are at increased risk for heart disease. People who fell misunderstood report more depression and more mood disorders of the kind shown to weaken the immune system. When communication breaks down, heart rate speeds up, cholesterol and blood sugar levels rise, and they become more susceptible and sensitive to headaches, digestive problems and pain. In work settings, communication gaps can reduce productivity, make workers irritable and even increase the risk of accidents.

DIFFERENCES IN MALE-FEMALE COMMUNICAITON STYLES:

According to a personnel communications specialist, differences between communications styles of male and female managers in business can cause problems in efficiency and in accomplishing goals. Males in the corporate world often use a complex combination of business, sports and military jargon. Their behavior is action oriented and competitive. On the other hand, women generally are more demonstrative and frame their speech with qualifiers, questions and questioning intonations. They express doubts, uncertainties and feelings more frequently than men.

According to specialist when women wait for men to speak first, they create an image of incompetence. “Men may then fall into the stereotypical role of treating women as incompetent, and the stereotypical interaction continues in a destructive way. It would be more effective if managers of both genders would “speak the same” language”.

“Many women attempt to crack the male communication code in the workplace until something happens that shows they have underestimated its complexities, “says Candiss Rinker, an expert in the science and practice of change management. She explains that women have been socialized from childhood to avid direct communication about difficult issues, so they often use a sugar-coated approach that other women understand but men do not.

According to linguistics professor, gender differences put women in a double blind at work that is not as evident in personal relationships. “Workplace communication norms were developed by men, for men, at a time when there were very few women present. The situation is aggravated when women hold positions of authority. If they talk in ways expected of women, they may not be respected; if they talk in ways expected of men. They may not be liked”.