Deborah Tannen

In the article "I'll Explain it to You: Lecturing and Listening", by Deborah Tannen, the main focus of men dominating conversation and women taking the passive role as listener is discussed. Tannen also suggests that both men and women have different listening and response styles in conversation. Tannen begins by illustrating that men lecture and women listen. She claims that this is because "women seek to build rapport...to play down their expertise," while men …

…tool for both sexes. One problem with Tannen's article was that the information included in the study by Elizabeth Aries about the body language of young women did not follow the topic. As a whole, Deborah Tannen's article uses everyday examples in conversation to convey understanding and knowledge to both sexes. She gives this information as a tool for learning and understanding in a way that any person can use in their daily life. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------