He said she said Gender, language and communication with Deborah Tannen

Streaming video - 2014

First, Deborah Tannen revolutionized our understanding of gender and communication. Now, for the first time on video, Tannen takes your students on an intellectual journey to the core of how men and women use language, and why communication between the sexes so often goes awry. Taking a linguistic approach that sheds light on psychology, Tannen uses everything from scholarly research to familiar examples from everyday life as her canvas. In this illuminating and entertaining presentation, Tannen draws a road map through the complex maze of why we speak the way we do, and why others so frequently don't hear what we mean. From patterns formed in childhood, to the "conversational rituals" of adulthood, Tannen reveals how "c...onversational style" lies at the core of myths, stereotypes, and miscommunication between the sexes. From why he won't stop and ask for directions, to why she thinks he's not listening (even when he is), Deborah Tannen's extraordinary and challenging presentation will inspire your students to discuss, debate, and rethink the nature of communication and gender. Tannen is the world's foremost linguist ... akin to Margaret Mead, who popularized the field of anthropology, or Stephen Jay Gould, who brought paleontology to a wider public. The Washingtonian. more