This reading offered interesting insights into explicit and implicit use of communication. Furthermore, it discussed the ways that indirect communication styles are often misunderstood or viewed as less effective and why these assumptions may be incorrect or unfair.
Discussion Questions:
How are communication styles established?
Are more direct communication styles in women rewarded the same way they are rewarded for men? Why or why not?
In considering Tannen’s discussion on how people in subordinate positions often default to indirect communication when speaking with authority: are women predisposed to take on more indirect communication styles (especially when communicating with men) because of the long-standing effects of sexism?