The good news is that as a funny motivational speaker, I get to have fun with the differences between men and women. And while this one is loaded with generalities, there is a lot of truth in the information, and benefits to be enjoyed by employing some of the ideas.
Women -if you are talking to a man:
- Get to the point as quickly as possible
- Before you START to talk to a man, distill what you want to say down to 3 to 5 sentences
- Use words like: “The bottom line is…”
- If you have to deal with a lot of details, consider putting them in writing and leave the information with the other person to go over later
- Minimize the amount of nodding you do (Stay tuned to the next blog post for WHY this one is important!)
Men – if you are talking to a woman:
- Don’t forget to use a warm greeting when you approach. Smily, say, “hi”
- If she is giving you more information than you need, say something like, “Carol, help me understand. What’s the bottom line?” (Resist the temptation to say, “What in the heck is your point here?”)
- Give her good eye contact while she’s talking
- Nod occasionally to let her know you are listening
Again we are talking generalities. In fact, there are specific personality types (regardless of gender) who prefer one style over another. And remember, we are not talking about right or wrong, simply about what works best for different people. If you want to get heard, consider shifting your communication style to that of the other person.
From your motivational speaker Linda Larsen (still trying to use less words…)
