“Why Can’t a Woman Be More Like a Man?”
From My Fair Lady, music by Frederick Loewe; lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner

Why can’t a woman be more like a man?
Men are so honest, so thoroughly square;
Eternally noble, historically fair.
Who, when you win, will always give your back a pat.
Why can’t a woman be like that?
Why does every one do what the others do?
Can’t a woman learn to use her head?
Why do they do everything their mothers do?
Why don’t they grow up, well, like their father instead?

The words of Professor Henry Higgins may seem narrow minded but we can, and should, learn much about communicating with members of the opposite sex in order to improve business relationships. In life and in business men and women display different personality traits and, although individual attributes may vary, there are common characteristics displayed by men and women which when misunderstood may make workplace communications difficult.

As young girls, women learn to establish and nurture relationships with dolls, create families and collaborate with one another. Men, on the other hand, learn from a young age leadership skills, power plays, and how to be ‘king of the mountain’. For women, doing business may be more about the relationship and experience than the actual cost of the product or service. Women are also far more likely to help other women, going so far as to help a competitor, while men may be more interested in developing partnerships as long as it will help them accomplish their mission. One viewpoint, okay my own, is that women want to succeed while men want to win.

Communications between the sexes tend to differ in that women will provide background and details, often taking a circuitous route to get to the point of their story. Men don’t need or want the details- they want just the facts, ma’am, just the facts. Understanding the communication skills and business style of the other sex is critical for a business to succeed. And understanding how to meet the buying needs of both men and women is essential to creating a positive experience, a happy customer or client, and future business.

So, both men and women can take a page from the playbook (a sports analogy for our male readers) of the other gender and, whether you are from Mars or Venus, you may find improved communications leads to greater productivity and less stress in the workplace which is something we can all use!

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