Gender Differences in Communication

Little did we know that the communication differences we experienced as kids on playground would move from classroom to board room. As the face of world changes with more women occupying  key management, bureaucratic and  other positions, the  necessity of narrowing  the  gender  communication   gap  is  growing: miscommunication can cost money, opportunities  $  jobs.

             Women  compose almost half  the  professional managerial  work force world wide. Half  of students, who take college degrees  yearly, are women.  Women make  up a large percentage of share holders. Though researchers in 1980’s predicted the disappearance  of gender  communication predicted as women moved  in to higher positions,  the gap-or ‘disconnection’ remains.

          Where dose this lack of awareness surface most often?  In organization were one gender sells or busy from same gender. For   example male stock brokers sell to other males-their comfort zone. Another  example may be the health care industry. The chance for gender communication gap is widest in those organizations where one  gender occupies most of the senior executive position.

                As the picture  changes, both men $ women must communicate on teams, manage & make business to other gender, but don’t know where to start to expand their store house of communication skill.  Professionals & companies, which  create cultures that encourage both genders  in their career paths $  recognize the accomplishments $ contributions of  both men $ women will be most productive. And that would be a competitive advantage.

          Neither men nor women are better communicators. They are just different. As women grow up in our culture, they are taught not to be aggressive or pushy, not to make a scene etc? so, how do they use indirect ways such as questions?  Men, on other hand do not always recognize indirect messages ie they often do not accurately judge to think women’s  meaning or question.

          The language of a woman trends to be indirect  tactful  $ even  manipulative. Women tend to give fewer directives  $ use more courtesy worlds. Example ‘’ The approach is  not exactly foreign to our people’’ meaning ‘’ they are familiar with it ‘’ or ‘’posy may not be available to handle project’’ meaning ‘’posy doesn’t   want to handle the project’’. Men’s  language tend to be more direct, powerful blunt $ at times offensive. Men generally   give more directives with fewer courtesy words. Example   ‘That  is  a  bogus  idea  if  I  ever  heard  one.  You are dead     wrong.

                Women talk to build  relationship with others $ to explore  their own felling  $ opinions. Consequently  they consider most subjects worthy of conversation. They often talk about   personal  topics such as relationships, people $ experience.  To women-an important  aspect of conversation  is simply ‘’connecting’’ emotionally  with another  person. Men tend to view conversation as means of exchanging information

Or  solving  problems. They discuss events, tact, happening in news, sports-generally topics not directly related to themselves.

      Whether in sales, management or marriage, awareness of gender differences in communication can prove a boom to your success in working  with teams  or managing   group.  Thus effective  communication  between gender could become easier   by understanding  the way of communicating by both women and men.