The Power of Talk:
Who Gets Heard and Why
By Deborah Tannen
Linguistic Style
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A person’s characteristic speaking pattern.
A set of culturally learned signals by which
we not only communicate what we mean
but also interpret others’ meaning and
evaluate one another as people
Linguistic Style
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Features include
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Directness or indirectness
Pacing & pausing
Word choice
Use of elements like jokes, figures of speech,
stories, questions & apologies
Turn taking
Linguistic Style
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Every utterance functions on two levels:
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Language communicates ideas
Language negotiates relationships
The Kicker
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Girls tend to learn conversational rituals
that focus on the rapport dimension of
relationships whereas boys tend to learn
rituals that focus on the status dimension
Linguistic Patterns
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One Up, One Down
Getting Credit
Confidence & Boasting
Asking Questions
Linguistic Patterns
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One Up, One Down
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Men tend to be sensitive to the power and
attain one up
Women tend to be sensitive to rapport and
will take one down
Getting Credit
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Men say ‘I’ where women say ‘we’
Linguistic Patterns
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Confidence & Boasting
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Women downplay certainty
Men minimize doubts
Asking Questions
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Can put you in a one down position, boys are
more aware of this
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The norms of behavior in the US business
world are based on the style of interaction
that is more common among men—at
least American men.
Conversational Rituals
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Conversation is ritual in the sense that we
speak in ways our culture has
conventionalized and expect certain types
of responses.
Apologies
Feedback
Compliments
Ritual Opposition
Conversational Rituals
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Apologies
 Women say I’m sorry more often than men
 Puts in one-down, even though other women
know they aren’t really sorry
Feedback
 Differing Styles
Compliments
 Women pay more than men, puts at a
disadvantage in the work place
Conversational Rituals
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Ritual Opposition
 An exploration through verbal
opposition
 They put their ideas in the most certain
and absolute form they can, and wait to
see if they are challenged
 Being forced to defend an idea gives the
opportunity to test it
Negotiating Authority
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Actual authority has to be negotiated day to day
Managing Up and Down
 Boys are rewarded for talking up their
accomplishments, girls aren’t
Indirectness
 The tendency to say what we mean without
spelling it out
 Men are often more direct
What to do?
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Become aware
Make sure everyone is heard
Be more flexible
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
Learning Module
Leadership
and Gender
Stereotypes
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998
Leadership Perceptions
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Leadership is hard to define
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but we know it when we see it!
Leadership Perceptions Approach
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people must first be recognized as leaders.
then they are allowed to influence followers.
followers determine the ultimate success of
leaders.
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998
General Model of Leadership
Perceptions
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Leader behavior determines follower
perceptions, which are associated with
positive or negative outcomes.
Outcomes such as success can also
serve to shape follower perceptions.
General Model:
Individual,
Leader
Behavior
Follower
Perceptions
Group, and
Organizational
Outcomes
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998
Gender and Leadership
Perceptions
Leader
Behavior
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Follower
Perceptions
Individual,
Group, and
Organizational
Outcomes
Identical behavior from men and women is
interpreted differently.
Perceivers attach different labels to the
same behaviors enacted by men and
women.
One reason is because of gender
stereotypes.Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998
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Gender Stereotypes and
Leadership Perceptions
Stereotypes are expectations about members
of certain groups.
Gender-based stereotypes include beliefs
about:
expected interpersonal behavior
 the types of roles or jobs best suited for men
and women.
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The role of gender stereotypes in
employment was at issue in Price Waterhouse
v. Hopkins.
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998
Gender Stereotypes and
Leadership Perceptions
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Ann B. Hopkins was a high-performing, but
masculine acting, prospective partner at PW.
Hopkins alleged she was denied partnership
because of her gender.
PW countered that Hopkins had interpersonal
problems (e.g., she was "macho").
Court eventually ruled that gender-based
stereotyping influenced perceptions of her behavior.
Because she was a woman in a nontraditional role,
Hopkins' behavior was seen as more extreme than
men who behaved similarly.
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998
Controlling our Stereotyping
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Everyone (or nearly everyone) engages in
stereotyping.
Most recognize it is inappropriate to judge
others based on a stereotype.
How can we learn to control our
stereotyping?
One way is through conscious control.
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998
How do I/O psychologists help
organizations control stereotyping?
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Identifying organizational consequences that
gender and race stereotyping have
Training employees to gather individuating
information about the stereotyped person
getting to know the person as an individual
 understanding benefits of diversity
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Training employers to effectively manage
diversity
Helping to minimize the effects of stereotyping
and unfair treatment of employees
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998
Sharing Perceptions
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How would you describe each of
these leaders?
Was either of them more bossy or
dominating?
Which of the leaders had greater skill,
ability, or intelligence?
Did they both fit your image of a
leader? Why or why not?
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998
Sharing Perceptions (cont.)
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Previous research indicates that the
same behavior by men and women
leaders results in different perceptions.
Women are seen as more bossy and
dominating.
Men are seen as having greater ability,
skill, and intelligence.
Gender stereotypes influence our
reactions, even without our awareness.
Prepared by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology - SIOP © 1998