As the author did when discussing men's and women's tendencies to adopt different conversational styles in "You Just Don't Understand", Tannen is careful in this book to emphasize that not all men follow typically masculine patterns of conversation, and not all women follow typically feminine patterns. Based on research and interviews, and written with humour, Tannen aims to encourage both women and men to learn from different styles of conversation at work, and to show people how to interpret conversational signals and thereby open up new opportunities for postive exchange and development.