Miscommunication Or Poor Communication?

Deborah Tannen and William Lutz both discuss the difficulty of communicating. Their point of views may be different, but their conclusion is the same. Men and women have difficulties of communicating. Not because the two genders want to be complicated but simply because we don’t realize how or what we’re doing when it’s happening.

Lapses in communication are something everyone has had personal experience with. While reading, a previous relationship kept popping into my head. As Tannen wrote about some of the communication issues in her marriage, I couldn’t stop myself from drawing parallels between our former relationships. The

How often is it mentioned that “communication is key,” yet per Tannen, the divorce rate in 2014 was nearly 50% - coincidence (289)? In her article, “Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” posted in The Washington Post during 1990, Deborah Tannen addresses this very question. She utilizes her background in linguistics and professional writing to convey several reasons why couples may not be clicking. By doing so Tannen hopes to convince those in relationships, or looking to be, of how they can be more open-minded when communicating with their significant others. Within her piece, “Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” Deborah Tannen utilizes a casual tone and hypothetical examples to convince the audience that men and women communicate differently.

Communication is important in relationships as it allows us to share our interest, concerns, and support one other; organize our lives and make decisions. Communication allows us to work together. Effective communication is based on the way we talk and listen, and how we respond with our body language. We can all learn how to improve the way we communicate but it takes more than words to create a safe, exciting and secure relationship. Too often the signals we send are not those we intend, when this happens, often both connection and trust are lost in our relationships.

This article by Deborah Tannen, written in 1990, addresses the differences between the communication styles of men and women and some of the ensuing problems that arise from these divergent behaviors. The article asserts "that although men tend to talk more than women in public situations, they often talk less at home. And this pattern is wreaking havoc with marriage" (p. 474). Research indicates that a majority of women state a lack of communication as the reason for seeking divorce as compared to only a few of the men. With the divorce rate at 50 percent the author says there is a "virtual epidemic of failed conversation" (p. 474) in America.

Although communication can be challenging, understanding what communication is, how each of you communicate, the power of verbal and nonverbal expressions, the ability to listen, control emotions and understanding misconceptions, there are ways to make improvements for a healthier relationship.

Marriage does need both parties of the relationship to communicate efficiently to have a successful relationship.

In the first chapter of her book, You Just Don't Understand, Men and Women in Conversation, Deborah Tannen quotes, "...studies have shown that married couples that live together spend less than half an hour a week talking to each other...". (24) This book is a wonderful tool for couples to use for help in understanding each other. The two things it stresses most is to listen, and to make yourself heard. This book opened my eyes to the relationship I am in now, with a wonderful person, for about four years. It made me realize that most of our little squabble-like fights could have been avoided, if one or the other of us could sit down and

Communication is one of the most important aspects in romantic relationships and different communication styles can affect relationships differently. Relationships can be both positively and negatively affected depending on the level of communication between the partners.

Lack of communication is the root cause for most relationships problems. Communication is the key foundation in a relationship. Without its presence or absence, it affects the physical health. When communication is deprived, we would have no sense of ourselves. Communication enables us to survive and it has a major impact on all relationships. Without communication, a relationship has no chance of surviving its prime. To make communication work, each partner must be willing to ignore distractions and really focus on the other person. Communicating problems with a spouse, friend or family member is the easiest and most efficient way to keep a long lasting and healthy relationship. In a

Communication is the number one key to a good relationship. When there is no communication between both parties involved in the relationship, that is when the relationship fails whether it is a man and a woman, or a child trying to divorce his/her parents or friends cutting their ties forever.

Relating to each other is not a technique we're born with. It's like a muscle that needs to be developed over time—and massaged when it hurts.

Lack of communication can have a domino effect of problems, starting off with partners being distant and

Miscommunication has been a problem when dealing with these differences such as relationships. Romantic relationships often end due to miscommunication between the man and woman (Renwall.2010). It’s not because either of the two didn’t have good intentions, it’s because they didn’t communicate well enough to

A Prominent saying state – “Good Communication is the key to a healthy relationship or marriage”; whether it may be verbal or non-verbal. Many marriages end up in divorce, because of neglecting to communicate