If you consider that men’s and women’s brains are very different biologically, you’ll likely also agree that they use their brains differently at work to LISTEN. Fellow blogger and friend, Tom Vander Well's been talking about Geek Squad Listening. 
Coincidentally, I've been reading facinating research about listening as it relates to the brain's make-up. It seems that men and women develop very different patterns of listening. Interestingly, Deborah Tannen points out that in her books, You Just Don’t Understand, and Talking from 9 to 5 – Women and Men at Work, that conversation between men and women often turn into lectures from men, to women who have become the audience.
Deborah has spent many years and PhD research listening to the way men and women speak to one another – and to the way they listen. She points out that, “the imbalance by which men often find themselves in the role of lecturer and women often find themselves in the role of audience, is not the creation of only one member of an interaction. It’s not something that men do to women. Neither is is something that women culpably allow or ask for.”
The imbalance, it seems to me is also wired into our brains, as we have seen roles assigned to men and to women – so that the brain’s plasticity physically wires into shape - based on what we do and get used to doing.
Tannen’s research concluded that men and women fall into these unequal patterns often because of the core differences in their interactional habits.
Boston Globe called this Tannen’s “most intriguing work.” Los Angeles Times reported …” She is an authority on why communication fails at work.” What do you think?
Tannen’s research studies concluded: “Since women seek to build rapport, they are inclined to play down their expertise rather than display it. Since men value the position of center stage and the feeling of knowing more, they seek opportunities to gather and disseminate factual information."
What trends have you noticed? Have Tannen’s hundreds of researched cases showed the same patterns in your workplace? Who's listening to who out there anyway?
When I lived overseas for many years it was evident that women were able to pick up what was being said in a different language quicker than men could. Somehow, their intuition or reading of gestures allowed women to 'hear' better. Whereas men were able to pick up speaking the foreign language more quickly than the women could.
Is there a corelation here you think?
Posted by: PanAsianBiz | November 13, 2006 7:02 PM | Permalink to Comment