1 Effective and clear communication between people is of paramount importance. It is noticed that the communication between men and women sometimes ends in frustration, misunderstanding, quarrels and conflicts. The communication practices of men and women are similar, but there are fundamental differences in the way each gender interprets the message which leads to difficulty and frustration. Men and women are also frustrated with each other’s communication behaviours due to a lack of clear and effective communication, differences in communication styles, and different expectations and purposes of communication. Every behaviour is a form of communication. Communication comprises a broad spectrum of behaviour ranging from verbal communication to nonverbal, emotional cues, body language and even silence. "Non-verbal communication channel is necessary where noise or physical distance prevents effective verbal exchanges and it includes facial gestures, voice intonation, physical distance, and even silence (McShane, Tasa, Steen, 2021)." In simple terms, communication is the process by which we exchange ideas and information. For communication to be effective, the conveyer transmits ideas and information in such a way that it is easy for the receiver to interpret and understand it clearly. "Miscommunication reflects instances where the meaning attributed to an intentional message by the receiver is different than that intended by the sender (Henningsen, 2004)." When the misunderstandings are not corrected, the interaction between the speaker and the listener ends up in miscommunication. The primary reason for having difficulty in communication between men and women is that each gender fundamentally interprets each other's messages differently (Tennen, 1990) Due to this misinterpretation lack of clear and effective communication arises which leads to frustration in each other's behaviour. We primarily use language to communicate and convey ideas. Language itself is a system of arbitrary signs, but it gives us a common ground for understanding and interpreting a shared mental imagery and mental model. For example, the word "CAT" helps give us a shared mental imagery of an animal. But when it comes to expressing complex ideas, conceptualizing and sharing similar mental models is less viable and hence less effective exchange of ideas. Misunderstanding arises from the different interpretations of the same message or idea. Furthermore, interpreting non-verbal communication correctly is much harder. Nonverbal communication is often subtle and hard to decipher as it is ambiguous but communicates a great deal of information in face-to-face conversation which the conveyer 2 transmits unconsciously (McShane, Tasa, Steen, 2021)." Furthermore, the difficulty increases when men and women have different expectations during communication and there are differences in communication styles. "Men and women talk differently"(Locke, 2011). Academic research on communication differences across genders has shown that men and women differ in communication characteristics and traits (Merchant, 2012). Men are assertive in their communication and the tone of voice is to advise and exchange information efficiently. Men "frequently depict themselves as a masterful person, a man who stands up for himself, gets away with things, is not to be toyed with or taken for granted, and who emerges from every contest a winner – possibly even a hero."(Locke, 2011) This perception of men is reflected in their communication styles as "for most men, talk is primarily a means to preserve independence and negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order "(Tannen, 1990) which most women finds frustrating. By contrast, women are polite and expressive in their conversation as they communicate to connect socially and build relationship as "women’s stories feature people and family, and they typically include intimate details about others and themselves."(Locke, 2011). “For most women, the language of conversation is primarily a language of rapport: a way of establishing and negotiating relationships."(Tannen, 1990) Men and Women have different expectations during communication. This is because each gender has a different view of the purpose of the conversation. Women offer solutions by engaging in affectionate behaviour and deal with problems by sharing their feelings and emotional concerns. "Females appear to engage in more rapport building behaviours such as encouragement, reassurance, lowered dominance and positive talk and may also exhibit more affective behaviours such as concern, empathy and sympathy (Jefferson, Bloor, Birks, Hewitt, Bland, 2013)." Women also deal with problems by talking about them and sharing their feelings with others. Whereas men focus on advice and facts to deal with their problems. Receiving affection and sympathy can be frustrating to men as they seek facts and immediate solutions as "men’s stories often focus on action and conflict."(Locke, 2011) Whereas for women receiving advice is frustrating as they seek to match their experiences with someone who can understand them rather than someone exerting power and dominance. 3 In conclusion, due to difficulty in interpreting each other's message correctly, differences in communication styles and traits and different expectations and purposes of engagement in a conversation, men and women are sometimes frustrated with each other’s communication behaviours. 4 References cited Henningsen, D.D. (2004). Flirting with Meaning: An Examination of Miscommunication in Flirting Interactions. Sex Roles 50. Jefferson, L., Bloor, K., Birks, Y., Hewitt, C., Bland, M. (2013). Effect of physicians’ gender on communication and consultation length: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of health services research & policy, 18(4), 242–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/1355819613486465 Locke, J.L. (2011). Duels and duets : why men and women talk so differently. Cambridge University Press, New York. McShane, S., Tasa, K., Steen, S.L. (2021). Canadian Organizational Behavior (Eleventh Edition). McGraw-Hill Ryerson. Tannen, D. (1990). You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. Ballantine Books, New York.
