Communication Styles

WRIT320-Q2WW

John Van Vlack

Assignment 2-4: Analytical Research Paper

Professor Matthew

(Slide 2)

Everyone working within a business communicates with customers and consumers to make sure all of the clients' needs are met. Without it, no work could ever be accomplished. With communication from each worker, duties can be fulfilled smoothly with very few troubles. Every company is based around good communication between employees and patrons (Montgomery, 2008). What makes communication sometimes difficult is when you add the differences between the opposite sex and the vulnerability we have when it comes to male-female relationships in the workplace. While it's always risky to generalize about gender differences, it's possible to make certain flexible generalities that can be valuable when communicating across the gender line (Thiederman, 2012). The main differences between the communication styles between men and women in the workplace are when giving orders, asking questions, and overcoming misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

(Slide 3)

Women and men, as groups, tend to have different communication and work styles. This has been observed and documented by sociologists, psychologists, and other social observers, despite continued debate about why such differences exist (nature or nurture) and why typically masculine behavior tends to be assigned a higher value in the workplace (Hahn & Litwin, 1995). Men and women often differ in the way they manage people and give orders. Several well-respected studies have shown women tend to soften their demands and statements, whereas men tend to be more direct. Women, for example, use tag lines, phrases like, "don't you think" following the presentation of an idea, "if you don't mind" following a demand or "this may be a crazy idea, but" preceding a suggestion (Thiederman, 2012). Many women are conditioned by culture to maintain harmony in relationships. That conditioning is manifested in softened demands,...