Deborah Tannen Quotes

30 quotes in 373 categories

• We all know we are unique individuals, but we tend to see others as representatives of groups.
• The key to conversation at work is flexibility and understanding how what you say might be perceived by others.
• To say that a person feels listened to means a lot more than just their ideas get heard. It's a sign of respect. It makes…
• It can be the best of relationships and the worst of relationships - often at the same time. The bond between a mother and daughter…
• Each person's life is lived as a series of conversations.
• Part of the reason images of women in positions of authority are marked by their gender is that the very notion of authority is associated…
• Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence
• Relationships are made of talk - and talk is for girls and women.
• To say anything about women and men without marking oneself as either feminist or anti-feminist, male-basher or apologist for men seems as impossible for a…
• Treating people the same is not equal treatment if they are not the same.
• Each underestimates her own power and overestimates the other's
• We tend to look through language and not realize how much power language has
• Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.
• Some days you just want to get dressed and go about your business. But if you're a woman, you can't, because there is no unmarked…
• Many women feel it is natural to consult with their partners at every turn, while many men automatically make more decisions without consulting their partners.
• If women are often frustrated because men do not respond to their troubles by offering matching troubles, men are often frustrated because women do.
• Though all humans need both intimacy and independence, women tend to focus on the first and men on the second. It is as if their…
• The desire for freedom and independence becomes more of an issue for many men in relationships, whereas interdependence and connection become more of an issue…
• Like most men, my father is interested in action. And this is why he disappoints my mother when she tells him she doesn't feel well…
• More men feel comfortable doing "public speaking," while more women feel comfortable doing "private" speaking.

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