Deborah Tannen

"Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence. To survive in the world, we have to act in concert with others, but to survive as ourselves, rather than simply as cogs in a wheel, we have to act alone."

"Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence. To survive in the world, we have to act in concert with others, but to survive as ourselves, rather than simply as cogs in a wheel, we have to act alone."

"Each underestimates her own power and overestimates the other's."

"The biggest mistake is believing there is one right way to listen, to talk, to have a conversation - or a relationship."

"Relationships are made of talk - and talk is for girls and women."