Communication: The Difference bewtween Men and Women

993 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Implications of Gender on communication

Communication is the basic way for human beings to connect with each other. In our daily lives tons of information are exchanging from one another. If you have notice, there are some differences during communication between men and women. Because of these differences, a nature-versus-nurture debate on the cause of these communicate differences had been occurred. In my point of view, both sides can cause these differences.
Some expects propose an idea to explain this communication difference that is biological factors (Cordileone, 2006). According to Cordileone, Marianne Legato, an internist and professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University in New York and founder of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine, explains in her book Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget that sex determines the hormones that circulate in our brain. Hormones trigger the fetal brain to grow in particular ways and this meshes with the learning we undergo through out our lives to make us who we are. She points out that men have larger brains but studies show women’s brain has more cells in the left hemisphere where controls listening and speaking. Female also have higher concentrations of dopamine, a chemical messenger that nerve cells use to communicate. More messengers means better and faster connections. The right hemisphere that we use to navigate the world and call on to do spatial tasks plays a dominant role in the male brain. Another expert Baron-Cohen, a professor of psychology and psychiatry and researcher in sex differences at Cambridge University holds common ground with Legato and found evidence to support that men and women behave differently because their brains work differently. In Baron-Cohen’s book The Essential Differ...

... middle of paper ...

...rs communicate in the same way and for some time the nurture affects biology profoundly. According to Provitera (2000), Tannen (1992) reported after research that males speak more often than females in mixed-gender interaction. Usually males dominated the conversation and researchers thought males and females were participating equally, which means there’s no big difference between men and women. Actually the communication difference gap between men and women has been shrunk nowadays. People are no more trapped in the stereotypes. Men can talk more about their feelings while women can express straight to the point, like men do.
We have to admit that both nature and nurture factors affect the way men and women communicate. It’s inappropriate to conclude in an extreme answer. There’s no doubt that genes made us who we are meanwhile the society shape us in some ways.

Show More
Related

  • Candy Tymson Glass Ceiling

    388 Words  | 1 Pages

    Men recognize that what they say to a female is either heard or reacted to differently than expected. Men find themselves thinking carefully about how to approach an issue or how to speak, thereby removing rapport building from the relationship with a female. Because female are more relationship oriented, they tend to lead by consensus. Men tend to be more hierarchical and include only the people closest to them at their level in the decision making process. When females have to make a decision they will often process and look at options out loud while men tend to process internally until they come up with a solution. Females often think that the male is being unresponsive to suggestions because of this and men often think that females are looking for approval when they process out loud or that they don't know what they are doing. Some men think that a female's way of processing is a sign of weakness.

    Read More

  • Gender Differences in Communication Styles

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Male or female, we all have the same basic human need to be understood by others, to communicate. One trait that can greatly influence the way we communicate is our gender. We may not agree with every theory of differences between male and female communication, but we do notice some differences in the genders when it is time to talk. Whether the communication is online or in person, there is a clear discrepancy between the genders. When it comes to public speeches and academic institutions, private discussions, and online talk we can clearly see the difference between how men and women talk and interact with other people.

    Read More

  • Communication Patterns And Nonverbal Differences In Men And Women

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women communicate to establish or maintain relationships. They talk longer than men and spend more time on one subject to fully understand where each person is coming from. This is evident in the use of nonverbal cues to further build a connection, like touching one’s arm or engaging their audience by nodding. Women also use more emotional language than men, apparent in the compassionate, warm, and concerned word choice that women use. Clearly there are great differences in gender communication. One could argue it is the greatest difference between men and

    Read More

  • You Just Don't Understand

    1363 Words  | 3 Pages

    Deborah Tannen is the author of the book You Just Don't Understand where she analyzes the different meanings of communication between men and women. Her research shows that women and men use the same words and phrases and yet can interpret and react to those same words and phrases differently. Tannen compares the two sexes to find men use their conversation as a type of competition or to preserve their independence. For example, men talk about their knowledge regarding sports, cars, women, exc. Meanwhile, women try to foster intimacy through communication. For instance, women often talk and relate on a personal level. Throughout Tannen's book she uses "cross-cultural communication" to describe the differences between the language of men and women. Tannen observed that, "For males, conversation is the way you negotiate your status in the group and keep people from pushing you around; you use talk to preserve your independence. Females, on the other hand, use conversation to negotiate closeness and intimacy; talk is the essence of intimacy, so being best friends means sitting and talking. For boys, activities, doing things together, are central. Just sitting and talking is not an essential part of friendship. They're friends with the boys they do things with" (Tannen 95).

    Read More

  • Reaction to Gender and Communication in Social Work Education

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    I also felt that it is majorly due to the different contexts in which men and women are analyzed that creates more difference. If some informal situation is considered and comparison made between the language and style of communication of men and women, there would only be some minor differences and more similarities where language and communication is concerned.

    Read More

  • Understanding Gender Communication Differences: A Key to Lasting Love

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Love is magical, and it can last, if we remember our differences” (Gray 14). Gender communication differences are very complex, yet somewhat remarkable. Dr. John Gray explains that it is as if men and women come from different planets. Unfortunately, many times men and women forget that they are supposed to be different (10). In addition to the biological natural differences between males and females, society treats and values each gender very differently, all of which plays a big part in how they communicate (Papadopoulos 2). Dr. Gray states, “When you remember that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, everything can be explained” (10). If a man and woman do not take the time to understand, respect, and become aware of their differences,

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Gender Communication

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although, it may be not recognized, gender is expressed through mindsets, non-verbal communication. According to Zimmerman (1987) , it is revealed that in order to realize the affect gender holds in society, one must step back and separate themselves from the perspectives on what sex and gender should look like that exist. Gender communication relates to expressions used by one gender in different types of relationships and roles amongst others. When communication was observed in gender separated environments to promote discussion, there were numerous differences observed in the ways that the men and women expressed themselves (How Do We Learn Gender?, 2015). Women held the ability to reveal a lot of personal information in group discussions

    Read More

  • Observing Gender Communication Differences

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    Further evidence of communicative differences exist between men and women in various other social settings as well. Consider, for example, those individuals employed in customer service-related Jobs. While in JC Penny, I noticed that female customer service representatives were more apt to offer immediate friendly assistance than the male reps. Men are not as cocky nor as confident in this sort of situation; their eyes tend to dart around the area of the store while the eyes of a women remain focused upon the eyes of the customer. The men seem to communicate with a lot less smiles. Apparently they have to get past a certain “ice-breaking'; point before they will feel comfortable with a genuine look of happiness.

    Read More

  • Men And Women Communicating

    1828 Words  | 4 Pages

    Communication between males and females has always been somewhat complicated. Because we are arguing that males and females have different cultures we wanted to take a look at what some of these differences might be. According to our research the inherent differences between male and female culture are the different roles that society holds for them and the ways these roles lead to different communication styles. The stereotypes that men and women grow up with affect the types of ways in which they communicate. We first wanted to take a look at how they specifically differ while men and women are arguing or having normal conversations. We also looked at the different types of networks that men and women share. These networks also differ and as do the reasonings for their formation. Although we do not think that men and women need to change their cultures to effectively communicate, we do think that better communication is possible. One of the researchers we took a look at was Deborah Tannen. According to Tannen the reason that men and women do not communicate well is that men and women use language differently. Women take the attitude that conversation is to explore solutions to common problems while men concern themselves more with getting information and hard data from conversation. Tannen states that what women look for in communication is human connection, while men consider status to be most important. They are looking for independence and are constantly looking for higher accomplishments. Intimacy threatens this independence, so men have a tendency to avoid it. One of the old sayings about women is that they talk more than men. It turns out that it is not necessarily true. Women seem to talk more in private conversations than do men. Women do not generally have a fear of intimacy and therefore are much more open with one another during private conversations. It is more difficult for women to use this type of communication style in the public arena. In that case it is men that do most of the talking. Tannen ultimately argues that men use communication as a weapon. They use long explanations to command attention from who it is they are speaking to. They use it to convey information and to ultimately gain agreement. Tannen suggests that through even simple conversation men are continually protecting their status. She sugg...

    Read More

  • Gender Differences in Communication

    2349 Words  | 5 Pages

    Do men and women really speak different languages? Well according to the Men are from Mars and Women from Venus theory, we speak very different languages. The Mars and Venus concept is by John Gray. John Gray offered many suggestions for understanding the communication style and emotional needs of the opposite gender. Another major point of Gray's books are the differences in the way they react under stress. John Gray’s book “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus” was the best seller for 6 years in a role. As you can see, people really do believe that men and women communicate in a very different way. But I am not completely convinced. I believe there is more that your gender that plays a role in how you communicate with the opposite gender.

    Read More

  • Differences in Male and Female Communication

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    Communication is an essential part of human life. People perceive things in a different way because of ethnic background differences, attitudes and beliefs, etc. These differences may affect our ability to communicate with our counterpart. Therefore, it is necessary to keep our mind open so that we can reduce the risk of communication breakdown. Men and women are different as everyone knows that. However, their differences are no just physiological and anatomical. Recent researches have concluded that there are remarkable differences between the two genders in the way their brains process information, language, emotion, cognition etc. Scientists have discovered the differences in the way men and women carry out mental functions like judging speed, estimating time, spatial visualization and positioning, mental calculation. Men and women are strikingly different not only in these tasks but also in the way their brains process language. This could account for the reason why there are overwhelmingly more male mathematicians, pilots, mechanical engineers, race car drivers and space scientists than females. On the other hand, there are areas in which women outperform men. Women are naturally endowed with better communication and verbal abilities. They are also effective than men in some of the tasks like emotional empathy, establishing human relations, carrying out pre-planned tasks and creative expressions (Kimura 1999).

    Read More

  • Gender Differences In Communication Essay

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    Men and women are more different than one can imagine. Though the main difference is in physical appearance, another difference is their sense of communication. Women appear to talk more than males, but like to keep their conversations more private. Males, on the other hand, will talk less, but do not mind their conversations being more public. This is just one of many examples of men and women being completely opposite of one another in terms of communication. Each gender has their own expectations of the opposite. These expectations are not usually met due to communication differences, which leads to criticisms such as, “Men do not listen” or “Women will never understand” to form. The most common assumption for why expectations are not met

    Read More

  • Sexism in Language

    1977 Words  | 4 Pages

    We all know that men and women are different. They look different, act different, walk, talk, and even smell different. In part, the simple fact that we are different explains why we sometimes have trouble communicating with and understanding the opposite sex. However, a close look at our language may show that there is more to the communication barrier between the sexes than meets the eye.

    Read More

  • The Genderlect Style Theory

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...or a relationship”. In genderlects, there is no superior or inferior method of communication, but rather, men and women just communicate differently. By understanding these differences, one can reduce the amount of misunderstandings in future conversations.

    Read More

  • Gender And Language

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Essentially, we are all different. We use language differently and interpret language differently. This is what we base our perceptions of others on, thus it is ultimately what dictates our interaction with others. The fact that men’s and women’s interaction differs because the two sexes generally interpret things differently is not a strange phenomenon, because we are all different.

    Read More

More about Communication: The Difference bewtween Men and Women

Open Document