Free Custom «Men and Women Conversational Rituals» Essay Paper

The art of understanding the kind of conversations between men and women at work is quite controversial. Whether at the work place or at any social gathering, women will be very cautious on what they speak in any conversation. According to Tannen, men will not be cautious on the effect of the other person. Women would not wish to hurt the other person and thus they always uphold careful and quality talk. Women criticism towards men is highly structured to avoid a sense of disrespect and authority over men. Women will start by appreciating whatever men have done even if it is not up to standard. The correction will be structured to avoid down playing men’s opinions and efforts in coming up with the piece of the work. On the other hand, men criticism to women will be done in a more teasing way to prove their superiority. The main point put forward by Tannen is that, understanding the nature of the gender in any conversation is crucial in the process of getting work done in the work place. Men would not want to be inferior and thus providing criticism should be tactical to avoid misunderstanding. According to Tannen, these rituals should be understood or else the job will be poorly done. If the conversational nature of men is taken literally, they appear arrogant and hostile. On the other hand, according to Tannen, when women are taken literally they may appear less confident and therefore not competent. Tannen emphasizes the validity of both types of conversational rituals and says that harmony in any work place would prevail if there is a mutual understanding of the conversational rituals.