Our Weekly Wednesday Creativity Contest question was “If you could change one things about the opposite sex, what would it be?”
Most people have a lot to say about the “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” debate. Aside from the petty complaints, most of the complaints about men and women fall under the same two umbrellas: that men are too linear, and women are too all over the place. Women say that men can’t multi-task, miss out on feelings, and overlook important details. Men say women waste time, get distracted, and miss the point.
The comedian Louis CK had a bit about how his wife would drive him crazy at dinner because she’d say something about the meal, then question the waiter, and how she and her girlfriend saw someone like that at a cafe once, to a vacation in Europe, to a plethora of other topics, when all she really meant to say was “it was a good tomato.”
“It was a good tomato” is how men communicate. It’s linear, direct, and doesn’t waste any time. A conversation between two male friends often sticks to the facts, significant events and ends with “see you later.” A conversation amongst women includes every detail, related detail, opinions, feelings, and sometimes doesn’t include “significant” facts at all. Most communication breakdown between men and women comes from this.
No matter which side of the war you’re on you should remember that both styles of communication are necessary and important. Male communication tends to be better at productive tasks. Leading theories suggest that this is because prehistoric men had the role of hunting game and they had to be efficient in how they spoke to other men because wasted words could mean a failed hunt, Female communication tends to care more for people. Some theories say this is because prehistoric women were in charge of caring for the community and the needs fo individuals while the men were at the hunt.
We’re not cave people anymore but we still have reasons for such. Male communication comes out in sports and production-based parts or business. Female communication comes out in art and people-based parts of business. As a modern day man or woman, you should learn to speak both. Don’t blame the opposite sex. Learn their language!