Blog post #7

 1) In many ways, Deborah Tannen's theory of genderlect styles makes us better communicators. The central idea to Tanner's theory is that, "...masculine and feminine styles of discourse are best viewed as two distinct cultural dialects rather than as inferior or superior ways of speaking (Griffin, Ledbetter, Sparks, 2019, pg. 385). By being aware of genderlect, one would be knowledgable enough to recgognize the different conversation styles used by men and women. Therefore, by being aware of genderlect, one would be a better communicator because they would be able to communicate in the most efficient way possible when engaging in an interaction with individuals of the opposite gender. Generally speaking, men engage in report talk, while women engage in rapport talk. Report talk "seeks to command attention, convey information, and win arguments (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 386)." Rapport talk "seeks to establish connection with others (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 386)." There have been several instances throughout my life where I have had to engage in listening, which is one of the six types of talk that Tannen offers in this theory. For example, when listening to my girlfriend, I often maintain eye contact, offer head nods, and engage in cooperative overlap. Because of this, I am able to reassure my girlfriend that I agree with her, and that I am fully engaged in our conversation. However, when my girlfriend and I first met, I would often engage in report talk when listening to her by actively avoiding being put in a submissive stance. This caused her to feel as though I was never listening to her, even though I actually was. Yet because I have had so many communication encounters with her, I was able to modify my communication style in order for her to always feel comfortable confiding in me as a listener. 

2) Being a member of various social groups can influence and shape ones standpoint on numerous social, political, or personal topics. People establish their standpoint through, "...critical reflection on power relations and their consequences that opposes the status quo (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 396)." Personally, my view of the world is heavily influenced by my social location. For example, the demographic are in which I grew up, including my sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and economic status have combined together to form my view of the word. For example, I identify as a straight, cisgender, white male, which influences my standpoint on various topics because these characteristics about myself cause me to be privileged. This privilege unconsciously shapes my worldview in that I can not relate to the struggles and social inequalities that minority groups face. When I was a freshman here at Fredonia, I decided to join a fraternity, which has also heavily influenced my worldview and standpoint. For example, being apart of the fraternity has caused my standpoint on various social issues to shift. I consider every member in my fraternity to be a close friend, and I strongly value the opinions that we share as a group. Therefore, the fraternity as a whole has had the strongest influence on my general worldview. 

4) If Julia Wood and Deborah Tannen were delivering a seminar at Target Corporation, they could each provide several tips for men seeking to improve their communication with women colleagues. For example, Wood would likely emphasize that ones gender heavily influences their standpoint. It would be important for Wood to explain that gender influences how one views the world, and we must be aware of this in order to be more effective communicators. Also, Wood would likely be inclined to to explain that women in general are a marginalized group, and that men tend to want more autonomy and women tend to want more connection (Griffin et al., 2019, pg. 399). Therefore, Would would explain that in order for men to improve their communication with female colleagues, they need to form a connection with them. On the other hand, Tannen would likely break down the difference between report and rapport talk, and suggest that men try to engage more in report talk in order for them to form a stronger connection with their female colleagues. Also, Tannen would likely encourage men to practice cooperative overlap and tag questions in order improve communication between opposite genders within the workplace. Cooperative overlap is simply an encouraging interruption that is meant to show agreement with the speaker, while a tag question is used at the end of a declarative statement in order to reduce the awkwardness of potential disagreement (Griffin et al., 2019, pgs. 387-388). Both theories proposed by Tannen and Wood's are similar in that emphasize how gender, social group(s), economic status, and demographics can influence the manner in which one communicates. Both theories explain that men and women learn different ways of using speech as they grow up. Each of their theories are different in that Wood's theory specifically explains how both men and women establish their standpoints, while Tannen's theory provides specific examples that explains the disconnect that men and women experience when engaging in conversation with each other. 

Sources:

Griffin, E. A., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. G. (2019). A first look at communication theory. McGraw-Hill Education.