“Men and women are different. Not better or worse – but different. Science knows it, but political correctness does everything it can to deny it. There is a social and political view that men and women should be treated equally, based on the strange belief that men and women are the same. They are demonstrably not.” ~ Allan Pease
We’re headed back to relationships 101 today, because it seems some people have forgotten a basic: Men and women are different and they communicate, connect and collaborate in very different ways.
Women can scream all they want for equal pay—and I support that—but that doesn’t mean that the people you work with miraculously morph into some sort of uni-sex, promoting universal understanding and proactive communication.
It just doesn’t work that way, and you know it.
To remind you: Men are from Mars; women are from Venus. A classic book.
Men prefer linear, logic-based communication. They want to get an answer, to fix the problem, win the game.
Women prefer relationship-based communication with some level of emotional understanding. They want to ensure tribe inclusion, address issues, play as a team.
These are generalizations, to be sure. And yet…they are generally true.
When we talk with one another, what we’re trying to do is connect. Criticizing or dismissing the innate communication differences reduces connection and widens the divide of understanding.
So, ladies: Stop trying to figure out what that guy meant. He meant what he said. They’re simple like that. Accept it.
And men: She probably meant what she said at the time. And thought about it and changed her mind. They do that. Accept it.
Both: Play nice. Share your toys.
And stop expecting other people to pick up after you.
Basics. They’re important.
“Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this. Men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.” ~Robert Jordan
