Communication Strategies of the Opposite Sex

By Jenny Kettlewell

They say that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, and at no point is this more obvious than where communications strategies are concerned. Relationships are rife with healthy debates about one party or other not responding, not paying attention, or even worse simply not listening. So what are the best communications strategies to use when trying to communicate with the opposite sex?

Knowing When Not to Communicate

The most important part of communications strategies is to know when not to expend your energy. For example, if you’re looking to have an in-depth conversation, or in fact any form of conversation with your other half, there is simply no point in trying to catch their attention whilst they’re mid playstation session, or during a football match. Equally, there is no point even attempting to interrupt a Sex and the City episode, or to expect anything other than a nod during a shopping trip. There are some occasions where no matter how many communications strategies you attempt, there is simply no getting through to your other half.

Knowing How to Communicate

No matter how close you get in a relationship, or even how closely you live with your other half, lack of communication can be a problem. We get so bogged down in the everyday conversations such as, ‘how was your day’ and, ‘what would you like for dinner’ that we forget that communication can often go a lot further than the pleasantries. In order to really keep in touch with your other half, communications strategies have to occasionally run a little deeper than everyday conversation. Whether you say it with breakfast in bed, a picnic in the park, a bunch of flowers, or even by relinquishing custody of the remote control for the evening, these little gestures are a great way of showing that the lines of communication are still open and also that they are in full working order.

Knowing How to Interpret

The most important part of good communications strategies in any relationship is learning to recognize and interpret your partner’s own distinctive way of communicating. As many women will be able to tell you, they can tell exactly what their partner is talking about simply by the tone of the grunt they emit. In the same fashion, many men will be able to gauge just how excited their partner is about something by the pitch and number of decibels of their shrieks. Whilst women may not understand the language of football, and men can never hope to figure out all the intricacies surrounding shoes and handbags, we can learn to interpret our partner’s responses all the same. Interpretation is key when it comes to communications strategies.

So, next time you start to feel as though you’re talking to a brick wall rather than your significant other, take a deep breath and count to ten, and remember that there are many different communications strategies that you can use – it doesn’t always have to come down to animated conversation.

About the Author: Jenny Kettlewell is the Marketing Manager for Multitone Systems, a leading telecommunications strategy company. Multitone has implemented custom, integrated communications strategies (http://www.multitonesystems.co.uk/) for organisations in the public and private sector for over 75 years.

Source: http://www.isnare.com