Human beings learn to act and behave in a variety of ways in society. The various modes of behavior depend on to whom one is speaking and what the objective is. This behavior is learned from nearly the cradle and is negotiated to the grave. In Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self In Everyday Life, we see just how intricate and deeply ingrained this form of face-to-face interaction is between human beings. But is this necessarily how it needs to be and perhaps more importantly, what would it look like if face-to-face interaction operated in a different paradigm. Those are the questions we will examine here and now.

Before we can ask the question of what a different paradigm of face-to-face interaction would look like, we must first examine its mechanics and what it is made up of. To jump straight in, Goffman’s definition of face-to-face interaction is based on the use of the self as a tool in which we negotiate with others. When initiating this intercourse between others, the individual in question will wish to employ a number of tactics to achieve the desired goal. This may run the gamut of a calculative approach to a manipulative one. And while the situation and nature of the other may greatly influence the approach the individual takes, the objective is always the same: garnering a positive reaction from the other. From superiors, equals, and subordinates, the individual is nearly always seeking a positive reaction and reception of themselves from the other.

To grasp this agenda of the individual, we will need to flush out some of the terminology that Goffman uses to describe these kinds of encounters. In fact, encounter itself is a term Goffman uses to define the interplay between individuals when they are in one another’s immediate presence. Here, individuals ply their various techniques of influence on one another in a reciprocal fashion, in hopes of controlling the situation to give off the best possible impression.

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