Debrah Tannen very strongly suggests that men and women should be studied as almost two sperate species in terms of the way in which they communicate with one another. Through vigorous studies of conversation, Tannen argues that while men and women are hearing and seeing the same things, the mental interpretation of these signals are much different. For example, in Tannen’s 5 distenct differences, in the public sphere women tend to have a more “get to know one another” style of communication. In retrospect, men are far more focused on dominance of others attention. The next point she mentions is story telling, and continues to explain how women tell far less stories then men. In these stories that men tell they are more likely than not the hero or humorous in some way. The next point hits on the fact that women always seem to listen more than men do. The next topic is about the gender difference in asking questions. For example, Tannen mentions that men are far more hesitant to ask for directions then women are. The final point that Tannen makes is the point of conflict. Women are far less likely to be involved in a physical fight, this is simply because men are genetically designed to see life as a competition with each other.

An example of this would be when men and women speed date. If you ever watch something on this topic or if you’ve ever been involved with this, then you’ll know how it works. The women usually switch dates quickly and the men basically talk about themselves while the women listen. This proves the point Tannen was referring to when she talked about women being better listeners.