"Why Can't He Hear What I'm Saying?"

Paper Summary:

The paper asserts that Deborah Tannen in her essay "Why Can't He Hear What I'm Saying?" confirms most readers' everyday experience of communication with compelling stories as well as convincing theories. The paper explains Tannens theory that both the man and the woman are listening to one another, but because they have been taught different ways of communicating, different values and to have different purposes when speaking, they feel as if they are not communicating.
The paper concludes that learning about the differences in communication between the genders teaches men and women that everyone is different, that differences are not necessarily bad and ultimately makes both men and women better listeners.

From the Paper:

"In her work, Tannen writes that the differences between men and women in communication styles can be seen early on, when little boys and girls are playing on the playground. "Little girls tend to play in small groups" (124) Although boys and girls may play together, the games that only girls play often don't have an objective, like jump rope or hopscotch. "Girls like to play cooperatively" (134). The point of these games is to help others by turning the rope, letting others take their turns, and engaging in fun songs, for the sake of talking, not for the sake of winning or beating someone else. "Little boys tend to play in larger groups" (134)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Tannen, Deborah. (1987). "Why can't he hear what I'm saying?" From That's Not What I Meant! New York: Ballantine.

More papers on "Why Can't He Hear What I'm Saying?":

• Book Review # 51105 : "Who Says Elephants Can't Dance"
• Analytical Essay # 146624 : "Alienation in "Where I'm Calling From"
• Essay # 137406 : "You Can’t Go Home Again: Memory and Meaning in Four Literary Works"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: