Two essays “I want a wife” and “Sex, Lies, and Conversations”

Agreement with Tannen's Statement

In Tannen's essay “Sex, Lies, and Conversations”, the topic I have chosen for this paper is communication in marital relationships. According to Tannen, “Switching topics is another habit that gives women the impression men aren't listening, especially if they switch to a topic about themselves”. The way people communicate depicts their behavior and self perception. It is important to analyze the communication behavior that various personality types portray. It arises basic questions for instance, is the decision of engaging into a communication reflects self concept? How people's self concepts affect their information seeking behavior? But before going into the detail of these questions, it is important to determine the concept of interpersonal communication. Communication is considered to be a natural phenomenon of the human life. It starts with the beginning of the human life. The starting of the child's cognitive development is the learning of communication skills. Deprivation of communication is the worst punishment after the deprivation of life. But, the value of communication is not realized as exceptionally meaningful.

Interpersonal communication is defined as one on one interaction of people with each other depicting how and why people behave and interact. Interpersonal communication can take place directly or indirectly. The indirect communication is referred to an individuals' body language i.e. gestures and postures, whereas the direct communication accredits one on one conversation.

Interpersonal communication is the demonstration of self concept, emotions, attitude and behavior. Life experience and perception influence self concept, Psychological type, motivational level and gender are the elements that shape up one's self concept. It is extensively known that one should first understand oneself in order to communicate with others. For instance, in the communication process, self knowledge is revealed to others and affects how others react to it.

Disagreement with Tannen's Statement

I disagree with Tannen's statement that “Once the problem is understood, improvement comes naturally”. I believe improvement in communication does not come naturally. For improvement one has to learn effective communication techniques. Despite the importance that we usually attribute to verbal communication, between 65% and 80% of our communication with others is achieved through nonverbal channels. To communicate effectively, verbal and nonverbal messages must match each other. Many communication difficulties occur when our words are contradicted by our nonverbal behavior. We are primarily Social beings in the sense that we spend most of our lives with others. It is therefore important to learn to get along with others and to function adequately in social situations. Certain communication skills help us to improve interpersonal relationships.

Through communication an individual establishes a contact with another that lets you transmit information. In communication there are several elements that may facilitate or hinder the process. "Interpersonal communication is not only one dimension of human life, but the dimension through which we make as human beings. If a person does not maintain relationships threaten their quality of life."

People communicate because that communication is absolutely necessary for psychological well-being. Communication is ...