Deborah Tannen

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According to Deborah Tannen’s Genderlect Styles Theory, miscommunication occurs between men and women often because the parties don’t realize that they are in a cross-cultural encounter. The reason for this was, Tannen claimed that men and women voice "different words from different worlds". Tannen argues that there is a difference in the way that females and males speak because of their differences in priorities. Tannen’s theory argues that women desire to form connections, therefore they use communication as a way to form those connections. In contrast, men are concerned with status and use communication as a mean to preserve their independence. This theory can be demonstrated in many situations, explaining how men and women interact differently…show more content…
Report talk is defined as, “ the monologic style of men, which seeks to command attention, convey information and win arguments.” Men use report talk to display status in relation to others talk for information. The theory suggests that men tend to feel overwhelmed when women disclose a large amount of information that men consider as unnecessary. This is demonstrated in the experience that I had with Dr. Tanbaum, his communication style was less personable and throughout the brief interaction he was very direct with me, which established a sense of status that he was the doctor and I was the patient. Therefore, when conversing with Dr. Tanbaum the lack of connection made me feels uncomfortable and as though he did not like me. I felt less inclined to open up with him or ask all the questions that I wanted to ask. As a female, I resonate with Tannen’s theory that women talk for interaction, because I feel it is important to establish a type of connection during conversations, but that sense of connection is not always prioritized with men. This concept that women and men have different interpretations and styles of communication makes sense to why I had a difficult time communicating with Dr. Tanbaum compared to Dr.

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