“Sex, Lies and Conversation

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“Sex, Lies and Conversation; Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Deborah Tannen, in her article “Sex, Lies and Conversation; Why is it so hard for men and women to talk to each other?” describes how men and women communicate differently with one another, and how their differences affect their interactions. Right from the beginning, she talks about how men seem to talk more than women in public situations, but women seem to talk more than men at home (para #1). Her first main point is that the number one reason for broken relationships and numerous divorces are usually a lack of communication (para #3). Tannen describes how most women complain about their men’s lack of communication. She states that it’s not the men lack of communication, but rather it’s that they react and respond differently in conversation (para #4). Another topic she covers is how childhood relationships relate to adult relationships. Tannen believes that the reason men and women have such different communication began during childhood. When girls and boys grow up, they tend to play with friends of the same gender. (para #7). Boys and girls group are different. As a result, girls always have that best friend whom they can be intimate with and share feelings with (para #9). On the other hand, boys’ relationship with each other are based more on doing things together (para #10). Tannen also talks about how women never think their men are listening to them. Though, most of the time the men are listening, but they have different ways of doing so. Sometimes women think just because their men aren’t looking at their eyes when they talk, that they aren’t listening or paying attention. Some women use the word “mhm”, “uhuh” and “yeah” to let their men know that they are listening (para #17). Likewise, some women expect the men to do the same thing, and if the men choose to
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