Training

Gender Communication

Do you know this situation? You had a great idea and voiced it in the meeting. Later, a male colleague says the same thing and gets applause for it? How can that be? 


Status vs. Connection
As the renowned U.S. sociolinguist Deborah Tannen proved in numerous studies and publications back in the early 1990s, there are fundamental differences in communication between men and women that repeatedly lead to misunderstandings. For example, many women find the status thinking and territorial behavior of many male colleagues inappropriate, while men often mistake women's reticence on these topics for a lack of competence and self-confidence. 
 

In everyday professional life, where many management bodies are currently still staffed by a majority or exclusively men, this leads to well-educated women coming out of meetings frustrated because no one seems to be listening to them properly. 


What can you do about it?
My gender communication seminar is about raising awareness of the differences in vertical and horizontal communication styles. Through subsequent practice in role plays based on concrete situations of the participants, the tools are taught to be able to act successfully and with more ease on both levels of communication. 

 

Literature references:
Prof. Deborah Tannen: You just don't understand
Dr. Peter Modler: Das Arroganzprinzip