Mulle said men think compartmentally, organizing their perceptual worlds by separating things out, while women think globally, organizing their perceptual worlds by connecting things up. He said that when women speak, they tend to speak narratively, with a lot of detail, while men speak in phrases short, clipped, reporting statements. Men tend to use conversation to report facts. The point of a woman s story usually comes at the end, but with men, the bottom line usually comes at the beginning. Men and women have trouble reaching accord in decision making because they focus on different ways to solve a problem, he said.
Men value the decision itself, while women tend to value the process of getting to the decision.
According to Mulle, the problem can be addressed. Respect is important, he said. Accept differences and don t expect transformations. Finally, he suggested both sexes attempt to readjust the way they speak. Become bilingual by developing cross-gender communication skills.