It is something that most of us have suspected for a long time, namely that females are better listeners than men. Scientific research merely comes along to confirm it. The research of 2,000 men found that men switch off after six minutes of chatting with their better-half, but their attention span increases to 15 minutes when talking about football, sex or films with their buddies. More than half of the men surveyed described themselves as bad listeners, according to the study. The report also revealed that women also listen harder when talking with their friends than they do with their male partners. Women’s favourite topic for discussion with friends was relationships. An interesting finding was that the worst time to expect a man’s attention was while they were watching sport, channel flicking or playing an app. Men are more likely to stop listening if the conversation concerns someone they do not know, followed by a chat about workmates, celebrities or clothes.