Preview

Sex Lies And Conversation By Deborah Tannen

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
491 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sex Lies And Conversation By Deborah Tannen
Problems with communication can result in anything from a failed marriage, to nuclear war. Imagine a woman in a very authoritative position, trying to relay crucial instructions to a highly qualified man regarding a critical operation, however the woman does not believe this man is actually listening. Instead of giving the information to a man who does not appear to be fully committed, the boss woman assigns a highly less qualified woman to do the job, resulting in some sort of catastrophic failure. While this example is incredibly vague, it shows what miscommunication between males and females can create. “Sex Lies, and Conversation” describes the differences in male and female communication. This article was written by Deborah Tannen, who has a PHD. in linguistics and has written dozens of articles for big time newspapers and journals, and has also written more than twenty books. “Sex Lies and Conversation” also examines the role communication plays in a successful relationship and how mutual comprehension of how each sex communicates can greatly improve the health of a relationship. There is a large amount of applicability in this article, and it would would greatly aid in strengthening a relationship by improving communication, understanding, and …show more content…
This article explains how one can communicate with their spouse in a more efficient way and remove the barrier of differing communication methods between the sexes. Tannen writes that most women want a conversational partner in their significant other, but most men fail to deliver. This can result in general communication problems as women could easily take this as a fault in their male partner. She reveals that men experience a woman’s communication method as interruption, intrusion, and lack of attention and that women perceive a man’s communication methods as disloyal and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    When I look at the topic male-female communication, the first thing that comes up to my mind is that man and woman must have a very good communication, because there are only men and women in the world. But as I think a little bit deeper, there is something different between a man and a woman, different types of talking styles, different ways of thinking, and different point of views. For instance, if a guy thinks that he spends too much time on his girlfriend, but somehow she might think that he doesn't have enough time to be with her, so that if they are not willing to communicate to solve this problem, they will break up very easily. So when two different kinds of people get together, problem and conflicts will appear between them. There are two articles "His Talk, Her Talk" by Joyce Maynard and "Man To Man, Woman To Woman" by Mark A. Sherman and Adelaide Haas. Both articles talk about the same topic male-female communication.…

    • 775 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is it always a “good” thing to tell the truth? If a friend were to ask “does this shirt look good on me?” would someone lie and say yes just to spare the friend’s feelings? Or if someone wanted to go to the movies with a friend and the friend did not want to go, would he or she straight up say “no I don't want to go”? Or would they claim to be busy with something else just so there's no hard feelings?…

    • 448 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

    In “Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” author Deborah Tannen claims that understanding cultural differences can apply to gender differences in communication. Thus, she also claims that men and women communicate in different ways and because of that wreaks havoc in marriages; however, in the essay “In My Tribe,” author Ethan Watters claims that the people of his generation are getting married later in life and that it is becoming more popular and due that the divorce rates are declining and making marriage more enjoyable.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Deborah Tannen’s “Sex, Lies, and Conversation” is a brief look at how men and women communicate with one another and the cross-culture differences between their individual styles and needs for conversation. Women often say that men do not listen or do not want to talk. Tannen gives reasons why women tend to believe that men are not listening, and shows that just because men have a different approach to communicating does not mean they are not listening to what women are saying. She uses several different examples to back up her statements including early childhood differences in communication between girls and boys, the body language men use and how women tend to interpret it, and how women tend to receive information while communicating. Men and women have very different expectations when it comes to communicating with one another.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The essays are both talking about communication. One is focus primarily on the way different genders communicate whereas the other focuses on the ways different cultures communicate. The essays we are going to examine are “Indecent Exposure” by Carla Power and “Sex, Lies and Conversation” by Deborah Tannen. These essays use research to back up their claims. My personal favorite of the two essays is Tannen’s. I found it to be more humorous and I seen these differences firsthand. Whereas Power’s although informative and important had a more melancholy tone. Both essays have their merit but I choose to support Tannen’s more. We’ll examine further on their similarities by showing their way they present their argument, the way it sounds…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Draft Essay

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Tannen, Deborah. "Sex, Lies and Conversation; Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?." Georgetown University: Web hosting. Washington Post, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/tannend/sexlies.htm>…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Linguistic Battle of the Sexes” describes how men and woman act different in public places. She states, “American men tend to talk more than women in public situations, they often talk less at home.” This pattern she describes is wreaking confusion and imbalance in their interests. When it comes to relationships men and woman have many communication problems starting from childhood.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    You would like to think that a two year relationship would be standing strong on two pillars. But what if a third pillar tried to knock down one of the stable pillars? If the third pillar succeeded, then what would you think? Who is at fault for the failed relationship? Dr. Laura Schlessinger, author of “The Improper Care and Feeding of Husbands,” explained how women are, ultimately, the reason their relationships are not successful. However, in the essay, “Sex, Lies and Conversation,” Deborah Tannen offers proof that both genders are to blame for the failed relationship. Essentially, relationships are difficult to maintain because men and women are wired differently.…

    • 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

    It is unlikely for a relationship to exist in the absence of communication. Without this connection, individuals cannot share ideas. All interactions will be useless. While attraction leads to fondness, it is how people interact that glues them together. So, although means and forms and communication differ, the principles are constant. An understanding of communication theories can place one at a vantage position. Of importance are two theories: Relational Dialectics Theory and Genderlect Style Theory. These two theories are not only valid but also identify the key factors that enhance or inhibit interpersonal communication within social contexts.…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the essay "sex, Lies, and conversation” Deborah Tannen deliberates about the variance in communication styles between men and women and how it originates the many problems in relationships and marriages leading to separation and divorce of most couples. There is more to communication differences than just basic stereotypes about the two genders, Deborah gives examples, experimental results and researches conducted to analyze and explain communication behaviors and skills of both men and women to better understand the different impressions men and women have of communication.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The article, “Sex, Lies and Conversation”, by Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics, distinctively informs us about the importance of conversation and how it drastically affects marriages. Aimed at married couples and people in serious relationships; Tannen, explains marriages are being destroyed because men express themselves more freely in public rather than at home “(Tannen 2)”. Tannen enlightens us with the similarities between men and boys and women and girls. For the latter “intimacy is the fabric of relationships, and talk is the thread from which it is woven…So a woman expects her husband to be a new and improved version of a best friend” “(Tannen 9)”. Men and boys on the other hand have bonds “based less on talking and more on doing things together. Since they don’t assume talk is the cement that binds a relationship, men don’t know what kind of talk women want and they don’t miss it when it’s not there” “(Tannen 10)”. Men and women view marriage and conversation completely different in saying “women’s conversational habits are as frustrating to men as men’s are to women” “(Tannen 18)”. Ending relationships and divorce are not solely based on conversation or the lack there of, yet, it is a fundamental element in our everyday lives and it should be understood by each participant so a clear understanding of what the other is feeling is reached and interpreted correctly. It is in these misconceptions and this miscommunication, Tannen believes, that we…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This article was written by Deborah Tannen, who has a PHD. in linguistics and has written dozens of articles for big time newspapers and journals, and has also written more than twenty books. “Sex Lies and Conversation” also examines the role communication plays in a successful relationship and how mutual comprehension of how each sex communicates can greatly improve the health of a relationship. There is a large amount of applicability in this article, as it would greatly aid in strengthening a relationship by improving communication, understanding, and tolerance…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Poe vs. Hammett

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It is my belief that although Poe's Dupin, in The Purloined Letter, and Hammet's Spade, in The Maltese Falcon both have very unique qualities, they both share very similar moral codes. These codes of morality, they would like to believe, have no bearing on the world or society around them. They both follow their own moral standards and do not follow what is expected of them. As Spade repeatedly suggests that honesty and loyalty are not what he is concerned about. As it occurs in both cases, Dupin and Spade act as investigators, but to do their eccentric moral standards, they must mysteriously work around the men in uniform. They are unconventional. Unusual investigation tactics that were used such as bribery, which Spade tried against Cairo were not uncommon for characters like these (chapter 5). Likewise, Dupin, solves the theft by putting himself at risk politically. Unlike the uniformed investigators, Dupin is able to solve the case by detaching himself emotionally. It is clear, however, the both Spade and Dupin are driven to solve the cases due to personal revenge or personal motive. In the end, both of these characters become the hero of the story. In Spade's case, although his motives might be self-righteous, he is able to find and turn in the killer. Dupin solves most of his cases on personal intuition; however, he as well becomes the hero as he solves the theft of the letter.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays