Showing results by narrator "Deborah Tannen" in All Categories

You know the feeling: You thought you said exactly what you wanted to, but somehow a different message comes across. You end up feeling misunderstood...and the relationship that you're building -- at home, on the job, on a date, or in an interview -- slips a little further out of your control.

You say something at a meeting and it is ignored; then when someone else says the same thing, everyone embraces it as a marvelous idea. You devote yourself to a project, but don't get credit for the results. You give what you think are clear instructions, but the job is not done, or done wrong.... Now, Deborah Tannen brings to the workplace the same voice, eye, and insight that made That's Not What I Meant! and You Just Don't Understand best-selling classics.

The following series of lectures draws on linguistics, or the scientific study of language, to show the many ways in which language has a profound effect upon human relationships. These lectures address the various aspects and implications of what Professor Tannen calls "conversational style". It also looks at the dynamics of specific situations such as the workplace and classroom where the role of conversational style is of particular importance.

When women we admire such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg advise "Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes" and Vice President Kamala Harris has to remind a room full of men "I'm speaking," it can feel as though having our own voices heard at work can be a lost cause. Whether we're confronting a colleague about an inappropriate comment or trying to avoid being talked over by a male colleague—again—we can find ways to have our voices heard at work. Speak Up, Speak Out helps listeners use their voices more effectively to sound off on issues large and small.

This discussion between best-selling authors Deborah Tannen (You Just Don't Understand) and Robert Bly (Iron John) is presented as a sort of continuing education program. It is utterly delightful. The authors are both funny and serious. They care a great deal about the topic of women and men's conversational styles. The production is so well done that even questions from the audience are picked up by the microphones.

This best selling audio program has revolutionized the way men and women talk and listen to each other - at home, at work, and wherever the communications gap between the sexes can lead to troublesome misunderstandings.

From the best-selling author of You Just Don't Understand comes another groundbreaking examination of the way we communicate - in public, in the media, in politics, in our courtrooms and classrooms - letting us see in a new way forces that are powerfully shaping our lives.

"My goal in this series, in addition to illuminating the patterns of women's and men's uses of language, is to enhance understanding of how language works in everyday life. I am told by students who have taken my courses that this understanding helps them in their everyday lives, as every aspect of our lives involves talking to people of the other sex - in our personal relationships, our families, at work, and in trying to get just about anything done."

Fighting with your spouse? Scolding the children? Conflicting with your siblings? Linguist Deborah Tannen explains what's actually going on in family talk, including how family conversations must balance the longing for connection with the desire for control. For more on understanding communication, we recommend Difficult Conversations.