An Online Dating Blog by Shimrit Elisar

Male and female communication styles

March 24th, 2007

I was browsing the Sky news site today and came across an article discussing the difference between the way men and women communicate online. the article itself specifically deals with the way men within a business environment often take women less seriously because of their overly personalised, often embellished emails.

Women commonly use flowery speech and create personal e-mails; men tend to be precise and to the point,” says Marilyn Davidson, professor of work psychology at Manchester Business School, who co-wrote Gender and Communication at Work.

In the online dating world, where social communications are involved, the problem is reversed: it’s women who often take offense at the way men express themselves online. It’s very common for men to go “straight to the point” while messaging women by keeping their sentences short, not volunteering much personal information and even asking to meet up very soon after initial contact is made. Women, on the other hand, usually feel much more comfortable expressing themselves online and can therefore misonstrude a man’s communication style as a sign that he is being curt, overly eager or even outright rude.

Approaching this subject with the understanding that men and women simply express themselves differently is a good start, if you want to make sure you’re not causing offense/being offended for no reason.
If you are a man, remember that communicating socially online is not the same as writing business emails. Slow down, be friendly and share more information about yourself.

If you are a woman, remember that not all men will have read this blog
If the man you are talking to seems a bit sparse on the communication front, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a jerk; it could just be that he’s not very experienced at this form of online conversation.

Entry Filed under: Online Dating Tips