Communications guru Suzette Haden Elgin bridges the gender gap. In this groundbreaking book, the internationally acclaimed author of The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense helps you anticipate and avoid the frustrating conversational knots in which men and women all too often find themselves entangled. Picking up where other authors leave off, Suzette Haden Elgin arms you with her proven techniques for dealing effectively with verbal confrontation in your personal and professional lives. She zeroes in on how to: * Identify the differences between women's and men's perceptions of the world and avoid the dangerous semantic traps they create * Distinguish between innocent and willful misunderstandings--and what to do about them * Read body language and use it as a powerful communications tool * Recognize and put an end to the treacherous verbal games people play Strikingly true-to-life dialogues and scenarios illustrate each point, covering nearly every argument and misunderstanding you've ever had with somebody of the opposite sex. Empowered with Elgin's proven techniques for dealing with these situations, you'll be prepared to take full control of any verbal confrontation with your co-workers, friends, and family. For doing verbal battle with the opposite sex, this is the book I'd want to have by my side. I found the audio of Suzette Haden Elgin's first book, The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense , exceedingly useful in countering everyday conversational barbs; this book is even better, turning the focus to the gender arena. It's amazing how easy it is to fall into conversation traps rooted in differences between men's and women's perceptions of the world. The example dialogs given here will hit you where you live, especially for women who find themselves feeling trapped or misunderstood in exchanges with men. All of us can use these techniques to defuse and avoid verbal minefields, on the job-and everywhere else. -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women ; review by Ilene Rosoff The author applies proven techniques (based upon solid linguistic science and tested thoroughly over two decades) to the misunderstandings and conflicts that can arise between the sexes. Effectively demonstrates how men and women can take control of any verbal confrontation in both their personal and professional life by providing practical solutions to the male/female communication crisis. Communications guru Suzette Haden Elgin bridges the gender gap… In this groundbreaking book, the internationally acclaimed author of The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense helps you anticipate and avoid the frustrating conversational knots in which men and women all too often find themselves entangled. Picking up where other authors leave off, Suzette Haden Elgin arms you with her proven techniques for dealing effectively with verbal confrontation in your personal and professional lives. She zeroes in on how to: Identify the differences between women’s and men’s perceptions of the world and avoid the dangerous semantic traps they create - Distinguish between innocent and willful misunderstandings—and what to do about them - Read body language and use it as a powerful communications tool - Recognize and put an end to the treacherous verbal games people play Strikingly true-to-life dialogues and scenarios illustrate each point, covering nearly every argument and misunderstanding you’ve ever had with somebody of the opposite sex. Empowered with Elgin’s proven techniques for dealing with these situations, you’ll be prepared to take full control of any verbal confrontation with your co-workers, friends, and family. SUZETTE HADEN ELGIN, Ph.D., is an expert in applied psycholinguistics and the founder of the Ozark Center for Language Studies. She is the author of 23 books, including the bestselling the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense books, as well as textbooks and novels. It's far easier to say that it's useless to try to do better, because male and female communication is inherently different and nothing can be done. Men are particularly pleased when claims of difference come from women who are recognized scholars, enabling them to say, "Hey, it's not my fault we can't communicate! There's nothing either one of us can do about it. We don't even speak the same language! And it's not men saying that, by the way, it's women. Women with Ph.D.s!" In this context, women's alleged inability to speak and write and understand the language of men becomes yet one more reason why women "have no place in business," "aren't suited to executive roles," and the like; it helps hold up the infamous Glass Ceiling.