WIDE-VERBAL-REPERTOIRE SPEECH - GENDER, LANGUAGE, AND MANAGERIAL INFLUENCE

This study identifies and discusses wide-verbal-repertoire speech, use d by some managers, which combines masculine and feminine speech chara cteristics in differing proportions. The study was conducted in two ge nder-balanced 10-person managerial groups by completing a phonological , morphological, and semantic linguistic analysis and a structural int eractional analysis of 34 different language traits of each member's s peech derived from 22 hours of taped conversation over 15 weeks. Three forms of wide-verbal-repertoire speech were found: balanced, which wa s almost gender-neutral; extreme, combining selective high usage of so me previously identified male and female traits; and mixed, combining a phonological and semantic female profile with a morphological and st ructural male pattern. Nine measures of influence were employed to det ermine influence in the group as a whole and its relationship to wide- verbal-repertoire speech. Discussion stresses the value of wide-verbal -repertoire speech for current organizational problems and the ways ge nder-based speech patterns create barriers between men and women in or ganizations.