Top 6 Dos and Don’ts Men Wish They Could Tell Women

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Men and women have always complained that the other sex is impossible to understand. Men often claim that women are inscrutable to them, but women tend to find men every bit as confusing as men find women. As such, there is ample room for miscommunication. She says one thing, and he misinterprets it to mean something different. He does one thing, and she takes it to means something completely unrelated. It is enough to drive both genders completely up the wall.

Understanding the other sex would be much easier if they would be willing to simply share the way they think with their partners. Unfortunately, many of them have tried to do exactly that only to find that they continue to be ships crossing in the night with their loved ones. It is frustrating and exhausting, but people keep trying to make things work. That said, there are some things that every man wishes he could manage to convey to the women in his life. Getting those points across would make everything so much easier and cut down on so many misunderstandings. When it really comes down to it, here are the top six dos and don’ts men wish they could tell women.

“Just tell me what you want or what’s wrong.”

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Both men and women occasionally suffer from the tendency to believe that entering into a relationship magically granted their significant other mind reading superpowers or Sherlock Holmes level deductive skills. Unfortunately, becoming involved with someone does not mystically grant you telepathy. You must continue bumbling along in your usual, fallible, human manner and hope for the best. If you are like many women, you have likely forgotten that your man cannot read your mind at some point. You get angry with him when he cannot deduce from your monosyllabic answers that you are angry he left shaving cream all over the sink or are furious when he cannot mystically sense that when you say “fine,” it actually means you spent the afternoon fighting with your mother and really want to cuddle until you feel better. Men do this occasionally, too, but women seem more prone to saying one thing and meaning another. Every man wishes that you would simply tell him what was wrong or what you actually want instead of getting angry that he is not actually a mind reader.

“Stop stealing my food, and order your own!”

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Men and women share a lot of the same foibles when it comes to relationships, but there are some irritating quirks that are more common in one gender than the other. Men are more likely to leave dirty laundry laying around or forget what they should do with used dishes. You are unlikely, however, to see men stealing their girlfriend or wife’s food. Women, on the other hand, do this all the time.

If you go out with your man and refuse to order your own lunch, fries or dessert, do not start snitching bites of food off your man’s plate. Asking if you can have a small bite just to see what the restaurant’s chocolate cake tastes like is one thing, claiming you do not want dessert and then eating half of his is another. If you want dessert or French Fries, order them. Otherwise, keep your paws off your man’s food.

“Either get ready faster or start getting ready sooner.”

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Of the two genders, women are more likely to take a longer time to get ready. Women, after all, usually have longer hair to wash and style, make up to apply, accessories to choose and often have more fiddly clothing layers to coordinate. This in and of itself is not a problem. What drives men crazy is that the long process of getting ready means that women are often running late. As a general rule, women know how long it takes them to style their hair and apply their makeup. So, women should plan at least that long to get ready. If you only need 20 minutes to get ready, plan to take 20 minutes. If you need an hour or more, plan to take that long to get yourself all fixed up. Do not suddenly imagine that you can cram an hour’s worth of hair styling and makeup into 30 minutes. The fact that you underestimate your routine’s time every day is likely driving your man up the wall. Either cut down on contouring or head upstairs a little earlier.

“Don’t ask me trick questions.”

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Every man dreads the day his wife or girlfriend smiles at him and says, “Notice anything different?” When a woman asks this question, most of the time she has changed something relatively small. Her hair now has layers instead of side bangs. Her lipstick color has deepened a few shades. She lost three pounds. Men, as a general rule, are oblivious to the little changes women tend to obsess over. He will notice big changes, such as suddenly going from waist length hair to a bob, but going from wheat blonde to honey blond is going to fly right over his head. Your hair, in his eyes, is still blonde.

Stop asking your man trick questions. If you want to know his opinion, ask for it and make it clear you want his honest thoughts. This might mean accepting that, yes, sometimes that dress does make you look fat, but it will make your relationship far more pleasant in the long run if your man never feels like he is facing down the Inquisition.

“Learn at least the basics about my passions.”

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Everyone has their own individual passions. When those interests line up or complement each other, you and your man have something else you can share with each other. It is extremely rare, however, for you two to share all of the same interests and hobbies. He may be nuts about gardening, but you could care less about what goes in the ground. You may love archery, but he does not understand what is so exciting about shootings sticks at targets. There is nothing wrong with having different interests, and you do not have to become a gearhead just because your man loves cars. You should, however, learn enough to at least follow most of his conversation. If he loves computers, learn the difference between ROM and RAM. If he is crazy about archery, know that a draw weight of 15 pounds is light and used for beginners. Anything over 50 is pushing what they use in the Olympics. You do not have to be an expert, but know enough that when your man is excited about his hobby, you can do more than smile blankly.

“Never play games to try and make me jealous.”

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Hollywood seems largely responsible for the proliferation of the idea that playing games and making a man jealous are the way to win him over. In reality, men do not like feeling jealous any more than a woman enjoys feeling it herself. So, if your man has made you mad or you are not feeling appreciated, tell him what is wrong. Explain how he hurt your feelings or that you are feeling taken for granted. Do not make it a point to have long, giggling conversations with other men when he is in the room or start flirting with his coworkers or friends when you two are out together. It will not make him more likely to suddenly appreciate your presence in his life. All it will do is ruin your night together and make him feel like you do not care about him. If something is wrong, talk to your man like an adult instead of playing the sort of juvenile games that were tiresome before you finished middle school.