Communication between Cultures and Genders

Essay by tabatha212006University, Bachelor'sA+, February 2010

download word file, 3 pages 5.0

People communicate with each other in many different ways including talking, e-mailing, texting, writing letters, gestures, or facial expressions. The two types of communication are verbal and nonverbal. Verbal communication consists of receiving or sending messages using words, sound, speaking, and language. Nonverbal communication constitutes sending or receiving messages using gestures, facial expressions, and body language. In communicating with people of different genders and from different cultural backgrounds one may have to overcome certain challenges to get his or her message across. These challenges consist of different perspectives, attitudes, decision-making processes, ethnic backgrounds, and cultures, to name a few.

Challenges usually occur in communication between genders by means of the different perceptions of men versus women. Women sometimes like to discuss problems, whereas men typically deal with problems by focusing on the facts and trying to arrive at an immediate solution (Torppa, Ohio State University, 2002). Other challenges between genders include the processes men and women use to make decisions, and the way men and women process information.

For example, if a man is listening to a woman speak about something, and he is standing still and not talking to show he is paying attention, the woman will interpret his nonverbal communication as boredom or that he is uninterested with what she is trying to say. She may repeat the information or keep asking the man if he understands what she is trying to say. The man will perceive her continuous repeating as insecurity or non-confident. Men and women also interpret the same information differently because he or she is looking for a deeper meaning in statements made. For example, a woman tells her husband to call her when he arrives somewhere because she cares about his safety. The husband may interpret the meaning of his wife's statement as her...