Blog Post #8 Communication Accommodation theory & Face Negotiation Theory

 March 29th, 2022 

                                   Communication Accommodation & Face Negotiation Theory 

Hello everyone and welcome back to this week's blog post! Today we'll be discussing two theories known as Communication Accommodation theory aka (CAT) and Face Negotiation theory.  To begin with, both theories take the objectivists approach in understanding the how of why people of different cultures manage rapport and disagreements as well as how our adjustments to certain aspects in society affect our persona's in response to another (Griffen, 2019). To begin, let's start with communication Accommodation theory ( CAT) for short. 

1. CAT is a theory routed in understanding our ability to adjust , modify, or regulate a person's behavior in response to another. This can include adjustments in speech, vocal pattern, and gestures(Griffen, 2019).  You can see this clearer in the example of The Office  down below where Michael tries to copy Ryan in a way. To be accepted, he grows a goatee like Ryan's. When Ryan catches on and shaves his goatee, Michael shaves his off as well. By this time however , D'wight is one step behind as his efforts to try and  accommodate his facial appearance to be as Michael's fails as Shown below. 

(Season 4 of The Office ; episodes 3/4)

Now, you're probably wondering how this theory can apply to our lives in real life. Well, I can tell you that we often take part in this theory without even knowing. Let's suppose you walk into an interview for a job position you really want. Think of the things you normally do to get yourself validation from the hiring manager and increase your like ability. Can't think of any of the spot? If not, I'll help you. My first suggestion would be to avoid over-accommodation. Over accommodation is the idea of engaging in demeaning or patronizing talk that confuses simplification and clarity. In colloquial words, try not to kiss up excessively to the person you are trying to sway. Another solid suggestion would be to create a balance of divergence and convergence. No no I am not talking about the trilogy book series of Divergent by Veronica Wroth rather divergence that refers to a communication strategy where differences are shown between you and the interviewer (Griffen, 2019)  In addition, convergence refers to adopting communication behavior in a way to become more similar to another ( Griffen, 2019). I believe that a balance of these two concepts will provide you with enough like ability amongst others in the position because you are showcasing that while you have a knowledge of the position and posses the traits, you have some differing traits that coincide and can increase healthy relationships amongst yourself and the interviewer. In other words, it shows that you can have a mind of your own. 

While our behavior can justify one position of our physical, let's explore the idea of facial expressions in Face negotiation theory and how we project images of ourselves to another( Griffen, 2019).  In doing so, we will explore Face and face work

3(B).  Face and Face work are counterparts of Face Negotiation theory. To begin "Face" in its' metaphorical sense as we like to refer to it in this context is the projected image of one's self in a relational situation (Griffen, 2019). Face work refers to the verbal and non verbal messages that help to maintain and restore face loss and uphold the honor of face (saving face). I have experienced a time where I felt someone else's face was threatened and swooped into their rescue to help save their face. 

I can remember a time when I was younger where we were in camp we would go outside and have races with our friends. As always, you had the fast crew and the odd ball friend who wasn't as fast as the others. We had done two races where I realized one friend of our group was lagging behind in both. I could sense that she was feeling down and embarrassed about losing each time. To combat this, I decided to implement the negative face threatening act and reassure her that no matter her position she was still very much still capable of running and being the best she could be. It turns out, later down the line, she joined her school's track team in high school and was one of the fastest on her team. Slow and steady will always win the race !

4.  As always, before we close, we often have to combine both theories to see how they relate to one another. Keeping in mind what I previously answered to the question above, Communication Accommodation Theory in the aspects of convergence and divergence can be applied to the explanation of my use of face-giving . Communication Accommodation theory influenced my decision to use this framework strategy of negative face threatening theory because it reminded me of the idea of divergence. In this sense, I was able to diverge from the actions of our other friends and choose to stand alone and chose to defend and support another persons need for inclusion (Griffen, 2019). In this case, it happened to be my friend who wasn't the best runner. 

As always, thank you so much for tuning in to this weeks's blog post ! I hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing.  I hope you all have a great day. In the coming days or weeks, try to observe and analyze how these two concepts play out into your life. You'd be surprised how often we unknowingly participate in these acts  :)