Talk Soup

There is a misconception floating around that needs to be looked at in detail to see exactly the root of its evil.  We must unite to squelch the delusion that women talk more than men.  I have it on good source that a man started this fallacy and will stick to his guns that is the truth, plain and simple.  Well hold on there… I don’t think it really is that straightforward; in fact, as most things related to women, I know it is all in the interpretation, definition and timing of the tête-à-tête.

What exactly do they mean when they say, “talk”?  With the help of the handy dandy dictionary.com, I found one meaning (used as a verb): “To express one's thoughts or emotions by means of spoken language” – hmmm, this could be true, women like to explain the circumstances of a situation two or three times in order to be well understood.  That, in itself, has a tendency to actually cause mass confusion on the receiving end – which in turn necessitates additional clarification and discussion (which leads to further dialogue and so on and so forth… we are only trying to get it right!).

As an added bonus, women are typically doing other things while on the phone.  It is amazing what one can get done in tandem to chatting: dust, wash dishes, sort mail, vacuum, laundry, prepare lunch – so it behooves a woman to engage in a long telephone conversation and feel rather accomplished that the time was well spent.  Thank goodness for portable phones in giving us the freedom to stretch our legs and prolong the attachment to the phone.

Men have a tendency to be a bit more succinct in their approach (bimbam, state why you are calling, say it and in short order get your business taken care of and hang up: elapsed time: 2 seconds.), unless of course they are in the courting mode and there is a telephone receiver between them and the person they are wooing. In this case, the phone lines will be burning to the wee hours of the morning.  Some things seem easier to be articulated over the phone than in person.  The funny thing though, is that men must talk themselves out during this phase because the amount said in those romantic first few months equals approximately the same volume said in the next ten years.

You can also: talk around, talk back, talk down, talk over, talk big and talk sense.  So many things and so little time in a day to get all the talking done we need to.  I like to think of talking as an overture to action (or non-action, as the case may be).  Words are fun and the more you know, the more remarkable and evocative a conversation will develop into.  As my mother instructed me way back when I was knee-high to a grasshopper: you were given a mouth to speak, so use it wisely.

If scientific research shows that women talk more than men, I don’t mind a bit.  I actually look at in as a mark of distinction that I have something that needs to be said and I am saying it.  But I might want to caution the men out there… Okay, so women may talk a lot, but it is what we don’t say that is important.

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.                      

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-