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Dr. Deborah Tannen  

Relationship & Communication Expert

Language. Conversation. Relationships. Everything we do, at work and at home, is done through talk. No one understands this better than linguist Deborah Tannen. As author of You Just Don’t Understand, the international bestseller that perched upon The New York Times list for almost four years, Tannen has unearthed the underlying dynamics of communication.

In her new book, a New York TimesYou’re Wearing THAT? Mothers and Daughters in Conversation, Tannen listens in on mother-adult daughter communication, asking why these relationships are so fraught and what daughters and mothers can do to improve their conversations and relationships.

Her book Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work, a New York Times business bestseller, does for the workplace what her revolutionary book did for women and men talking at home.

Tannen has written for, and been featured in, The New York Times, Newsweek, USA Today, People, The Washington Post, Time, and The Harvard Business Review. She has appeared on many television and radio shows including 20/20, CBS News, Oprah, Good Morning America, as well as on CNN and NPR.

Providing a unique perspective, pitch perfect examples, and well-honed analysis, Tannen offers a rare combination of scientific insight and a humorous presentation that will change forever the way we approach conversations and explore the role of talk in human relationships.

Speech Topics


Women, Men, Mothers and Daughters: The Universal Truth about Communication

Talking 9 to 5: He Said, She Said in the Workplace and How it Affects Communication and Productivity

Illustrated with real-life video clips of workplace communication, Tannen shows how women's and men's ways of speaking affect who gets heard, who gets ahead, and what gets done at work. Increase productivity and job satisfaction with this entertaining as well as enlightening presentation, based on Tannen's New York Times business bestseller Talking from 9 to 5.

That’s Not What I Meant! Talking Across Cultures and Genders

Communication between speakers of different cultures can be understood and improved with basic understanding of conversational style. Tannen can focus this keynote speech to include gender as cross-cultural communication, or limit her examples to speakers from different countries or Americans of different ethnic, regional, and class background.

I Love Her, but She's Driving Me Crazy: Mothers and Daughters in Conversation

In this highly entertaining and informative keynote speech, Tannen brings her unique humor and insights to this mother of all relationships.

Can We Talk? He Said, She Said and How Genders Interpret Communication

Conversations between women and men can be like cross-cultural communication. With captivating video clips of children at play, Tannen shows how ways of speaking learned in childhood cause misunderstandings in adult conversations. Based on her four-year, #1 New York Times bestseller, You Just Don't Understand, Tannen provides insight and delight, plus real improvement in relationships.

How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships

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Gender and Discourse

The Culture of Argument in America

Genderlect Styles: Male-female Conversation is Cross-Cultural Communication

Talking from 9-5: Women and Men in the Workplace

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