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Some of you may have been here before, but, for those who have not, you'll have a chance to see some of the stuff I'm studying. I submitted this blog to my professor for my Interpersonal Communications class.

Here's what it's all about: Men & Women Communicating - At work, school and everyday life

I chose to use Deborah Tannen’s book, Talking from 9 to 5 as my main source of inspiration for writing my blog. I took sections of the book and based my blog entries on her insight as well as my own. I also pulled examples from my own experiences and observations from my past work environments, school situations and everyday life.

Talking from 9 to 5 gives insight to the different conversation styles and nuances between men and women, specifically in the workplace. A main theme is the differing communication styles between men and women; how men converse in “report” talk (competitive, ensuring they are “one up”) and women with “rapport” talk (supportive, building community). Tannen observes and gives examples of many situations in organizations where the generalization of men and women’s styles are apparent. Through Tannen’s own research and others in linguistics and sociology, she points out that there are different communication styles; and understanding them will help one to communicate more effectively. She argues that to be successful, we must not embrace or disregard other styles, but rather, make an effort to understand and to learn from them.

Many of the situations Tannen describes ring true and I noticeded these patterns taking place within different situations in my life. As women working in the corporate world, it is important to be aware that by default we are considered less confident and competent, even though we are just as capable of getting the job done. If we are to behave more like men and speak in an assertive, dominating position, they view us as being aggressive and unfeminine.

My first post was quite academically oriented, detailed and long, however, after researching other blogs, and talking to friends, I realized that I needed to change my style to be more “blog” oriented. In attempt to get comments on my blog, I sent out the link to friends and family members, but had little success. I also perused other blogs with the subject of men and women, or relationships to see what other individuals were talking about. I posted a few comments on other’s sites and asked them to comment on mine, but also did not have any success here.

Before coming to Royal Roads University, I rarely participated in this type of electronic interpersonal culture. Blogging or web journaling is new to me as a way to glean information and find out about the going-ons of my friends or complete strangers lives. As a way to keep friends and family up-to-date with my life, I can see this as a practical means of communication.

Many blogs discuss intimate, personal details, while others are more surface-oriented and discuss day-to-day activities. I found one blog where a woman posted a letter that she was intending to give her divorced husband. She was willing to disclose to the World Wide Web that he had cheated on her and that was the reason for their marriage falling apart. For her, it was a way to vent and share her feelings, inviting others to comment on her situation. This new outlet of communication allows people to open up and share their life with strangers, as now society has no problem with people peering into their lives, just look at the reality TV shows such as Big Brother, Blind Date, YouTube, etc. This may be acceptable for some people, however, I’m not willing to put my life on display. If I’m going to keep my acquaintances abreast of my life, I will post knowing that anyone who has access to the internet can read about my journal.

Hope you enjoy reading.

Cheers,
nicole