Final answer:
Deborah Tannen suggests that men use conversation to assert status and provide authoritative reports, while women seek to build rapport and social connections when asking for help or directions, emphasizing cultural over biological roots for these differences.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Deborah Tannen, an important style difference in the way men and women ask for directions or help lies in their communicative behaviours. Men tend to use conversation to assert their status, leaning towards authoritative reporting, whereas women tend to use it to build social connections, favouring conversational rapport. This perspective posits that men and women participate in different 'communicative subcultures' with differing motivations and expectations for talk. These patterns, as suggested by research, are culturally rather than biologically based.