You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation

Article number 10222124

Deborah Tannen examines why women and men so often seem to talk at cross purposes. Drawing on sociolinguistic research and lively examples of real conversations, she argues that many misunderstandings arise from different conversational cultures learned during childhood. Women may use language to create connection, seek confirmation and strengthen intimacy, while men may use it to maintain independence and negotiate status. The result is a form of cross-cultural communication in which the same words can carry very different meanings, offering insights into conflicts and misunderstandings in relationships at home and at work.