Positive Gossip is a Good Form of Communication

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“Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence” says Tannen(27). For some couples finding that certain weight that will balance the scale of communication can become interesting and a hard task. In the book You Just Don’t Understand, written by Deborah Tannen, she gives many examples of how men and women compete for a gender hierarchy, in which she believes that males and females compete for status in society. She often believed that guys look down upon women, and do not care about what they think. So by competing for a hierarchy, women and men almost challenge one another for social and professional status. It’s almost a game in which there isn’t really a winner, but that both females and males excel over each other while trading places on the platform of conversational hierarchy. For example, a man talking over and interrupting a fellow female colleague because he believes that his rapport talk, which is common conversation that one would have with friends and peers, is more important than her input on the subject. So perhaps in turn she will do her part to rise above the man when she gets a chance, perhaps giving an informative presentation since women are better at report talking, which is conversation of which a person speaks about technical and gives information that is more than just connection to peers. Tannen also says, “the essential element of connection is symmetry: People are the same, feeling equally close to each other. The essential element of status is asymmetry: People are not the same; they are differently placed in a hierarchy”(Tannen 53) Tannen is trying to say that symmetry, is when men and women are talking to each other trying to make...

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...e him. Tannen also says, “Because telling secrets is an essential part of friendship for most women, they may find themselves in trouble when they have no secrets to tell.”(Tannen 98) Perhaps that is what Mary is feeling when she feels the need to tell Bob that she is having a hard time and needs someone to talk to.

I believe true friends do not repeat their friends’ secrets to others. I believe this paper supports many points and gave many examples of what Tannen discussed in her section about Gossip. Small talk is essential to maintain a sense of camaraderie when there is nothing special to say. Gossip is a very good form of connection between two people as long as it’s positive and not in a form of a rumor.

References

Conversation. (March 17, 2002) . MSN Instant Messenger.

Tannen, D. (1990) . You Just Don’t Understand. New York: Quill.

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