Rapport Vs. Report talk in gender communication

In the classical conversational style females typically talk to build rapport and while males typically try to report during conversation.

Rapport is the connection that is cultivated between us and the people that we come in contact with. Rapport is the reason why we feel comfortable and trust some and lack of rapport is why we would feel unease and skepticism with others. Rapport is a way to come into a direct understanding with a person's unconscious mind. To build rapport is to speak and act in such a way that the person or people you are interacting with begin to see a commonality in you.

Tannen (1990) reveals a very different conversational style by men and women. Women, Tannen says, use conversation to make connections and establish intimacy and community, what she refers to as "rapport talk". Conversation is more cooperative than competitive, although sometimes competition is masked by apparent operation.

Men, on the other hand, see conversation as a means of establishing status and power. Information giving, or "report talk" is one way to achieve a higher status in the conversation.

Generally, the communication style of women has been described as being more emotional than men. Women focus on feelings and building relationships while men focus on power, and status. This is also shown in problem solving, where men take a straightforward approach compared with women who tend to establish intimacy, show concern and empathy. Additionally women are also seen to foster cooperation rather than competition.

Men display a higher percentage of task behaviors -- providing information, direction, or answers, and direct disagreement than women do (Eckes, 2000). They use problem solving as an opportunity to demonstrate competence, ability to solve problems and their commitment to the relationship. When thinking about the problem, they expect solutions, exerting power to accomplish the problem solving task. On the other hand, use problem solving as a way to strengthen relationships, focusing on sharing and discussing the problem rather than the end result.

In the following video, Dianna Booher has clearly explained the difference between Report and Rapport conversational style that takes place in gender communication communication.