When speaking about gender differences in language the book makes a statement referring to men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Though this is not true, it often seems as if it is true because of the many differences male and female’s use when speaking. Last year I was part of a study to test for differences in gender language. The study concluded that men generally use less descriptor when describing a situation. Men are more direct or straight to the point when speaking about a subject. The study also claimed that women generally use a lot of descriptive words when explaining a situation, meaing that women are more wordy in there spech. The people who often notice the difference in the way gender effects communication is often couples. Women may say a comment to her counter part and the message that he understood may be totally wrong to what she was trying to get across. But I feel as if there are defiantly ways around this problem. People should just become more active listeners. Active listeners eliminate assumptions by asking clarifying questions and finally can respond to the statement clearly.
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Your blog really stuck out to me because of your example of being part of a test. It reminded me last semester in my qualitative communication class project. I had forgot that I had done a study on this as well, seeing who used more descriptors men or women. My group members and I handed out six pictures and had people describe what they saw. I forgot all about it until I read your blog. You're right, men did use less descriptors because they didn't care about the detail. I know we used a toilet for one of the pictures and the men just said "It's a toilet" whereas the women said "It's a white normal sized toilet". You made great points with your blog and backed it up with the study, I had forgotten I did. I also agree with how maybe men interpret a message from a women wrong. I agree what if people become more active listeners, this problem would occur less. Great job!
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