If women are often frustrated because men do not respond to their troubles by offering matching troubles, men are often frustrated because women do.

Many men honestly do not know what women want, and women honestly do not know why men find what they want so hard to comprehend and deliver.

Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence.

Many women feel it is natural to consult with their partners at every turn, while many men automatically make more decisions without consulting their partners.

Though all humans need both intimacy and independence, women tend to focus on the first and men on the second. It is as if their lifeblood ran in different directions.

More men feel comfortable doing "public speaking," while more women feel comfortable doing "private" speaking.

The chivalrous man who holds a door open or signals a woman to go ahead of him when he's driving is negotiating both status and connection.

Girls are not accustomed to jockeying for status in an obvious way; they are more concerned that they be liked.

Like most men, my father is interested in action. And this is why he disappoints my mother when she tells him she doesn't feel well and he offers to take her to the doctor. He is focused on what he can do, whereas she wants sympathy.

The desire for freedom and independence becomes more of an issue for many men in relationships, whereas interdependence and connection become more of an issue for many women.