We’ve discussed the greater ease with which women interpret non-verbal cues, so it won’t come as a surprise that women use more of them to communicate as well. Women tend to use facial expressions, verbal rhythm and tone, and physical gestures to convey information and emotion.
Why? Researchers believe that the explanation for this can be found in the nursery. Men are often irritated by the high-pitched cooing and exaggerated facial expressions women use when they’re talking to babies. In fact, women whether they know it or not are doing it for a reason: Babies respond best to high-pitched voices repeating the same things over and over again and to “big” facial expressions, like wide smiles and wide-open eyes. Prioritizing clear communication with young children may also account for women’s tendency to use their hands and bodies when they talk and for their greater tendency to touch their conversational partners.
Of course, a woman looks much different when she’s talking to a toddler than she does when she’s talking to another adult, but there does seem to be a carryover in style, even in adult discourse. So women use more and more varied words than men do. They use more subtle and nuanced facial expressions than men do, smile more often, gesticulate more, make more direct eye contact, and are more likely to touch the person they’re talking to.
Legato, M.J. (2005). Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget. Rodale Press