Direct and indirect self-presentation in first conversations

Journal article by Jan Svennvig in Journal of Language and Social Psychology, volume 33, issue 3, 2014.

Journal of Language and Social Psychology front page

Abstract

This article presents a conversation analysis of strategies used by interlocutors in first encounters to solicit and display personal information. It presents a standardized sequence used to elicit personal information, called the self-presentational sequence, consisting of a request for self-presentation, an answer (the self-presentation proper) and a response to the self-presentation. The moves of the sequence may be considered as functionally adapted to establishing an interpersonal relationship by displaying other-attentiveness, claiming common ground, and establishing a relation of cooperativeness. The second part of the article presents a more indirect mode of self-presentation, in which participants provide personal background information as occasioned by the topic under discussion. The article contributes to describing the conversational forms self-presentation takes in authentic conversations and to explaining the relational functions of such forms in light of theories of politeness and relationship management.

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Published Aug. 25, 2017 11:18 AM - Last modified Jan. 17, 2022 12:36 PM