Why don't men communicate?
Posted by Doc BW, Fri Oct 03 22:01:00 UTC 2008
Awhile back, Anju brought forward a question about men: Why don't we communicate? Well, actually, we do. We just don't talk in the same ways that women do. I think women tend to talk to each other about many different personal thoughts, where that's the main focus of the interaction. For men, I think that level of intimacy is intimidating and uncomfortable. But men tend to communcate with each other fairly well when they're engaged in some other activity, such as working on something or a leisure activity. I think most men have been socialized to not talk as much in general, so that can also be a barrier to communication. So, what can you do? Well, instead of saying "We need to talk" or even "Let's talk about that", you might have better success with "let's go for a walk/hike" or "Why don't we go work in the yard together?". That takes the focus off the talk, and gives your man the freedom to have a discussion while he can feel less threatened. So, does that seem accurate? Any success stories using this idea? Let me know!