As a reader, speech tags tend to slow down the reading process, not to mention pulling me out of the story because they tend to be redundant. "Why?" she asked.
The asking of the why is the asking, so why is it necessary to add she asked?
Kathy asked, "Why do we as writer's need to tag our dialogue?"
The common answer to this question is so that readers 1) know who's speaking and 2) don't get lost in unmarked blocks of dialogue.
My favorite type of dialogue to read and to write is dialogue recognizable for the character's distinctiveness in speech and clarified by the individual character's action, thought, or movement, instead of tagging on said and asked.
Here's a short dialogue excerpt from Book #1, Series #1:
“I’ll get this.” She dragged the over-sized tackle box toward the truck. “You look tired, Papaw.”
He rubbed his hands over his face. “Wonder why?”
Her heart missed a beat. “We fished a long time.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You still mad at me?”
“Aw, Darcie Lynn.” He gave her shoulders a quick hug. “Let’s finish up here.”
Just lean dialogue and action, and the reader can still easily discern who's speaking.
No said or asked.
"Does this type of dialogue writing work better for you?" she asked.