There’s a common belief in our society that women are more talkative than men. Is it fact or myth?

According to a new study, led by author and psychologist James Pennebaker at the University of Texas at Austin, men and women utter the same amount of words a day- 16,000 words. The results of the study, published in Science magazine, tracked almost 400 college students in the U.S. and Mexico using an electronically activated recorder device.

I was particularly shocked by 16,000 words a day. That’s a lot of words in a day! I did the math assuming we sleep 8 hours a day (the recommended minimum) which leaves us with sixteen possible hours to speak in a day.  In sixteen hours men and women speak an average of 1000 words per hour or 266 words per minute!!!

The stereotype that women speak more than men, has had profound impact in dating, marriage, work and other relationships. Unfortunately, the male band has often discarded the significance of what women say, think, and feel. Men often think that what they say has more importance and validility. They disregard women as talkative or gossipy. This attitude has affected relationships between men and women for ages.

So the question is not what gender speaks the most, but what side has more substance!  Those who speak less, listen more; and listening is a virtue in danger of extinction. 

To read the article in the LA Times go to: Men talk as much as women, study finds