Public Speaking

investigative Teams (^263)
To research and report a topic effectively, the team should have several meetings
that progress from an initial get-acquainted session through the research stage to the
final presentation.
First Meeting: Getting Acquainted
In your first meeting, find out each person’s interest, knowledge, and expertise regard-
ing your topic. Exchange contact information. Leadership can develop informally, or
you can designate someone to guide the meeting and keep people on task. An important
role is gatekeeper, the person who makes sure that quiet people participate and that no
one dominates the discussion. Another important role is recorder, the member who takes
notes or minutes on what transpires during the meeting.
diversity
in prActice
Male and Female tendencies in Group interactions
In her book You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, Deborah
Tannen^7 identifies several differences in the conversational styles associated
with males and females. John Cowan^8 traces these differences to boys’ and girls’
playground experiences, which he suggests are “at least a light-year apart.”
Male- and female-associated characteristics are tendencies, not absolutes, and men
and women, especially college students, are probably more alike than different.^9
Nevertheless, Tannen’s conclusions are widely discussed, and the following
tendencies have implications for small-group communication.
• Men tend to use Report Talk—informative speaking that relies more on facts,
figures, and definitions and less on personalized information. In contrast,
women tend to use Rapport Talk—speaking that stresses relationships and
personalizes information with examples and stories.
• Men tend to pursue goals aimed at gaining power, status, and respect,
whether or not they offend others. Women, in contrast, tend to help others
and build relationships between people. They are less concerned about
winning an argument.
• Men tend to speak in a dominant way, meaning that they interrupt and dis-
play their knowledge and expertise. They also set the agenda. On the other
hand, women express more agreement, make connections, and smooth
out relationships. Men offer “assertion followed by counterassertion,” and
women offer “inquiry followed by counterinquiry.”^10 Although women
suggest more topics than men, men choose which topic to discuss.
• Men explain more than women, and their explanations are lengthy. Women
can and do explain, but they have fewer opportunities to do so in mixed gen-
der groups.
• Men speak more in mixed gender groups. Conversational time is one-sided in
their favor. Women listen more and speak less in these settings.
To learn more about this topic, search the Internet for Deborah Tannen. You’ll
find interviews, excerpts from her books, and other interesting information about
gender differences that affect the way males and females talk in small groups.
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