Preview

Communicaton

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
424 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Communicaton
According to the author Deborah Tannen the article, Sex, Lies, and conversation" is about how differently men and women percieve conversation in their relationship. She states that lack of conversation is wreaking havoc within marriages. this is due to the fact that men and women have very different expectations of communication.

Tannen describes how differences in communication start in the childhood socialization. For young girls, conversation is the cornerstone of friendship. By sharing secrets, thoughtsm feelings, and impressions, girls and women build intimacy in their relationships. Where as young boys build relationsips by doing things together. Young boys are more inclusive with each other, creating larger groups of friends. Within these large groups, boys compete with each other to avoid the subordinate position. Intimate conversation is a form of weakness for boys and men, leaving one to feel as the subordinate just like a child listening to an adult.

One impression of not listening results from differences i the mechanics of conversation. Deborah tannen studies videotapes, made by psychologist Bruce Dorval, of young children and adults talking to their same sex best friends. Within all ages, the girld and women face each other in conversation with direct eye contact. Unlike the boys and the men who would not face one another and periodically glanced around the room.By facing away and little eye contact gives women the impession that the men are not listening.

Another habit described in the essay is the switching of topics. Women in conversation about problems will ask probing questions, and express agreement and understanding. But, men are not inquisitive. They will dismiss each others problems with simple statements and switch to a topic about themselves. Women percieve these responses as insensitive and belittling. Deborah tannen also describes how a woan's conversational habits are just frustrating to men. in close,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    In this essay, Tannen explains why conversation is so important in marriages and how it is a leading cause of such a high divorce rate in the United States. Tannen divides her essay into four parts to make…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Martin shows that thoughts about differences in gender communication, men are thinking type and women…

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Can differences in communication between men and women be defined as black and white? Deborah Tannen’s essay “But What Do You Mean” divided the biggest areas of miscommunication between men and women into seven categories, three of which caught my attention for personal reasons. As examined, women have a habit of apologizing to maintain a pleasant atmosphere. Tannen expressed how men and women react to complaints, as well. Jokes were also discussed, suggesting that men razz each other to maintain a one-up position; however, women’s jokes tend to put themselves down. Regarding Tannen’s description of these three communication categories, my personal experiences fall more within a grey area rather than assigning themselves to black and white roles.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In order to try and understand what brought about this difference in communication between couples, observations in ones childhood was made. The pattern in which one was communicating with others of the same sex would show that…

    • 726 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is a large problem when it comes to communication between men and women, whether it is between children, teenagers, or adults; because of a cross gender society. Once both sides understand this "cross-culture communication" problem, so that no gender is blamed, improvement will naturally occur. Deborah Tannen, is an award winning writer and a best selling author for her eccentric essays based on differences of male and female conversations. In the essay, "Sex, Lies and Conversation" she writes on the many distinctions of the style of conversations on both men and women.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When Harry Met Sally

    • 1668 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The film “When Harry Met Sally” is rife with examples of interpersonal communication victories and utter failures. The main characters- Harry Burns played by Billy Crystal and Sally Albright played by Meg Ryan- are captive to each other’s company during a car ride from Chicago to New York and quickly find they maintain very opposite viewpoints on much of life, especially relationships between men and women. The premise for the argument and the remainder of the film is the disagreement as to whether or not women and men can be friends without sex getting in the way. Harry maintains it is not possible, and Sally takes the opposite position. Throughout the film Harry and Sally display a number of different communication traits. Their style of communication is determined largely by the way they regard themselves and the way they perceive others. These factors of communication provide for a rollercoaster of interactions throughout the film.…

    • 1668 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Laura Schlessinger sees women as the issue in relationships, author Deborah Tannen believes that both genders cause problems in relationships. Tannen shows all the research she conducted that allows the reader to infer that males and females are very different. Obviously males and females are raised differently, but it seems no one expected for that to affect their relationships. Tannen provides evidence that shows the different mindset of males and females when she explains, “For women, as for girls, intimacy is the fabric of relationships, and talk is the thread from which it is woven. Bonds between boys can be as intense as girls’, but they are based less on talking, more on doing things together” (1). Simply, boys and girls are wired differently. They have a different mindset about what is most important in a relationship. Because they each have a different way of thinking, it can often cause problems. Those problems are getting more difficult to solve. Both the male and female want to be right and not at fault for why they fought. That concept is easy to understand after reading, “Sex, Lies and Conversation,” because Tannen explains it thoroughly. In relationships, the male and female tend to find a flaw in their partner and use it against them in the argument. An example of this is given when Tannen stated, “Many of the psychological explanations that have become second nature may not be helpful, because they tend to blame either women (for not being assertive enough) or men (for not being in touch with their feelings)” (3). These flaws are used against the other person in an argument. Evidently, it is not only the female’s fault as to why the relationship is not working; it can also be the male’s…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Debrah Tannen’s essay on “Why Is It So Hard For Men and Women to Talk to Each Other,” she tries to inform us of this lack of communication between men and women and the problems that it can cause. The author starts off by giving the reader an example of a situation involving a man and his wife where the husband would comment on how much his wife is the talker in the family and how she is always talking when she is at home. This demonstrates that men generally talk more in public situations, while women tend to talk more at home. She follows up by talking about how most of the women that divorced gave lack of…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Deborah Tannen

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Secondly, Tannen does observations that allow her to show how men and women tend to have discussions. While men tend to be more joking, women talk more about their problems. “When…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In today's Society conversations between males and females has become difficult. There are a lot of miscommunications between males and females. In Deborah Tannen’s article “ Sex, Lies and Conversations” Tannen talks about how men and women talk differently to each other as well as the misunderstandings between each. She believed that no one person was at fault, whereas the differences caused by sexual standards. I feel that communication changes between males and females when in a different age group. These groups range from children, to teens, and adults.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are some distinct differences between how men and women use and understand communication. There are differences in how we approach, laugh, or relate to a conversation based on the genders of each party that may arise in some challenges. Understanding of how each gender interacts with certain topics makes…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    You Just Don’t Understand Women and Men in Conversation by Deborah Tannen is basically an explanation on how women and men converse. Tannens main goal is to give advice to the different genders in order for them to avoid as much conflict as possible. Tannen’s main ideas are to explain how differently women and men react to each other’s way of being. It’s like they’re in their own little world while living in the same big world. Men tend to try to dominate situations and tend to always want to be at the top. Women do not tend to want to get into conflict but tend to show understanding. These big differences bring them into conflict. A Tannen explains, “What he wanted conflicted with what she wanted”. (40) Women and men are constantly clashing in opinions.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The encounters are determined by assumptions and expectations, which can also limit the effectiveness of relationships. The two theories identify the tensions that surround interactions, especially within social contexts. While the Relational Dialectics Theory deals with conflicting values between the outwardly expressed and the individual worldviews of individuals in different forms of relationships, the Genderlect Style Theory focuses on specific gender attributes that govern communication and interactions. At any rate, these communication theories, when skillfully applied, can place one at an advantageous position in…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this chapter, Floyd (2011) discusses the many ways that gender affects interpersonal relationships. He describes is as a “defining feature of our identity, shaping the way we think, look, and communicate” (p. 51). It is explained that each gender culture puts emphasis on different parts of the relationship. Women come to value communication and closeness, while men value taking part in activities together (Floyd, 2011, p. 57). This makes sense when I think about how I communicate with men versus with women.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An American Childhood

    • 739 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The article “Sex, Lies, and Conversation” by Deborah Tannen discusses the different ways men and women communicate. The selection “Sex, Lies, and Conversation” was taken from Tannen’s book “You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation”. In the selection Tannen, a linguist’s, describes the discrepancies of communication between men and women. Most women cite conversation as a problem in relationships between a man and a woman. The discrepancies start in the stage of childhood. This is the time frame where the habits are first formed, as the child’s development is mainly influenced from their peers. I agree with Tannen’s points on why the problems arise, and can relate all the points to my own personal conversations. Tannen describes one idea as how women use intimacy as the background for friendships, and this is how all of my friendships are based. Two other points, the misalignment in the mechanics of the conversation between a man and women and how women make more listener-noises often all are true on how my conversations are conducted. Both points tend to make me believe that men aren’t listening when I am conversing with them, and this is the response from the discrepancies between a man and woman that Tannen describes.…

    • 739 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics