“For most women, the language of conversation is primarily a language of rapport: a way of establishingconnections and negotiating relationships. Emphasis is placed on displaying similarities and matching experiences. From childhood, girls criticize peers who try tostand out or appear better than others. People feel their closest connections at home, or in settings where they feel close to and comfortable within other words, during private speaking. But even themost public situations can be approached like private speaking. For most men, talk is primarily a means to preserve independence and negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order. This is done by exhibiting knowledge and skill, and by holding center stage through verbal performance such as storytelling,”
