An illustration:
She said, "We have to go to the new Italian restaurant in town. It's 5 stars and they have little mints in the bathroom! My friend and her boyfriend went last weekend and they said it was the best food in town. I would love if you'd take me."
He thinks, "Well there goes two weeks worth of pay."
This illustration may be a little out-there but it gets the point across. Men and women do not think alike.
Men use communication to get a point across or solve a problem. Women use words to express emotions and feelings and to become more involved with the person they are talking to. Women also ask open-ended questions and say things like "maybe" or "I don't know" to hopefully get others to join in on the conversation. Men see this as illogic or indicisiveness. Women will ask directions from strangers but men are more wary because they want to be self-relient.
Does anyone have any ideas about why (even when talking about the same subject) men and women can have two totally opposing ideas?
I also read that men interrupt women more than women interrupt men. Has anyone found this true?
I found this quite interesting. I think the there is a difference between genders in communication partly because of personality. I do agree that women try to express their feelings more than men, but as a whole we aren't that great at it. I have seen a lot of guys be just as indecisive and dramatic in their conversations as females. I know I would think " there goes two weeks worth of pay"...am I just the oddball?
ReplyDeleteI do think men and women have entirely different ways of viewing the world, but that does not mean that they can't agree on certain things or hold the same opinions. It just means they are looking at the world through a different lense. Girls tend to be nurturing and caring, and guys tend to be logical and protective. Both elements are needed in the family and in the world in general. However, I don't think we can stereotype the different world views of guys or girls.... for example, I agree with Emily in that I would not want to eat at a super-expensive restaurant. And it's been my experience that other girls interrupt me more than guys do. All in all, I think that gender communication can create some interesting problems in relationships, but you can't lump all guys and all girls into one group.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you decided to post on this. I am fascinated on gender communication just because I have been dating my boyfriend for two years and we've had to learn so much about how to communicate. Although it's different in every relationship, it's amazing how one miscommunication can lead to huge arguments or hurt feelings, when neither person necessarily did anything wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think that miscommunication between genders comes less from differing opinions towards things (that's kind of what I felt the "example" was getting at), and more from males and females simply having different communication patterns. (Instead of "She said/He thought" it would be "She said/He heard".)
Regardless, I don't think anyone will ever be able to put their finger on exactly how to "interpret" between males and females. You just have to learn on a case-by-case basis.