Genderlect Styles:Men really are from Mars and Women really are from Venus. An explanation of why it is good to be able to speak each other’s languages in business.

Are you a woman in business? Have you ever been called “whiney”? Have you ever been told “Now before I say this, I don’t want you to get all emotional about it”? How about “Oh, you are probably just looking into it, like most women do”? Are you a man in business? Have you ever been told “You are always trying to one up me”? What about “All you care about is yourself”? Have you ever been told “Ok, it’s not a competition”? Clearly, depending on your gender you have some sort of relation to these statements. I would like to introduce to you, drum role please, Genderlect styles.

Genderlect styles are an explanation of the communication behaviors of men and women. Genderlect refers to dialects men and women use, almost as if they are two different languages and understanding of those languages. Often men and women experience extreme amounts of miscommunication due to the fact that they don’t speak the same language (hence, men are from Mars, women are from Venus). Since it is 2012 and women are in the work place more than ever, it is vital that these two sexes learn each others language. In fact, by women learning Martian and men learning Venetian there will be much more cohesiveness within the group and the work place.

Let’s start with the Genderlect style of men. Some common characteristics of this dialect are report talk, competitiveness, public speaking, enjoyment of conflict, dominance, using “I” rather than “we” and masculine talk. Report talk is like reporting the news. Men typically like to flaunt what they have done or did with their lives. Of course men can be competitive, enjoy conflict, be dominant and masculine.

Now on to the Genderlect style of women. Some common characteristics of their dialect are; rapport talk, establishing connections, keeping the peace, including others, use “we” rather than “I”, inclusive language, powerless speech, and passivity. Rapport talk is when women establish connections by getting to know others. Women tend to be more passive in the work place and be focused on the group as a whole rather than themselves only. For example, a woman conducting a meeting will use inclusive language. “We all need to pull together to get this done”, “We need to work as a team” “We completed this together”. Men may use more exclusive language such as “I am proud to lead this team”, “I did this portion of the work”, “I will take the lead”.

While these often can get misconstrued, when each Genderlect is understood by the other they can get past all the wrong impressions and start working together to make their careers thrive. Each sex should be aware of their differences and accept them to really understand each other. Women and Men should both take a step back and evaluate how they can relate to each other more. This will ultimately create common ground for both, so they can be more aware of their surroundings and the communication that comes along with it. Even if men can get very independent and women can sometimes get too focused on making sure the group is happy, they both make a great mix to a company.