(Robbins and Langton, 2001, p. 288) With respect to language use, women tend to engage in more affiliating and socially expressive behaviours; that is, they try to be supportive and to show concern for the other's emotional state. (Pearson, 1985, p. 180) Men, on the other hand, are more likely to give their own suggestions and opinions. To illustrate this, consider the following example. Jeff has just broken off his relationship with his high school sweetheart, and the break-up has left him somewhat emotionally vulnerable. When he tells his male friends about his troubles, he is told that the best thing he can do is completely forget his ex-girlfriend, and try to meet someone new. However, when he confides in his female friend Annie, she tells him that she understands the pain and confusion that he must be going through and offers to help him get trough this difficult time. Thus, while Jeff's male friends offer assertive advice, Annie shows a concern for Jeff's emotional state. This is in general indicative of how men and women approach communication.
The above example also sheds some light on how the two genders engage in listening behaviour. In Gender and Communication, Judy Pearson suggests that although no clear evidence suggests that one gender is a more superior listener than the other, men are not as capable of spontaneously perceiving emotional situations as women. (Pearson, 1985, p. 162) Simply, women are better able to recognize what type of emotional approach is needed in a specific situation. If a woman encounters an individual who is upset, but is trying to hide his anger, she is more likely to pick up on his emotional state than a man is. This ties in rather nicely with the next point, which is that gender differences in communication are greatly pronounced in the case of nonverbal communication (even more strongly than they are in the case of language use or listening).
