Sociality Rights and Obligations

The second dimension of rapport management is that of ‘sociality rights and obligations’.

Spencer-Oatey distinguishes three aspects of it:

Implicit/explicit role conceptualisation
This relates to the behavioural expectations associated with the roles and social positions people hold. For example, in a court room, there will be explicit rules as to what roles people take and what they are allowed to say, when and to whom. Other settings may have implicit roles. For example, participants who have been working together for an extended period of time and get together for a business meeting will normally have implicit rules, regulating whether individuals are allowed to interrupt the chair, whether a joke is allowed, etc.

Behavioural conventions, styles and protocols
These relate to the specific conventionalised styles and ways of interacting with one another in particular contexts and participants’ expectations. For example, speakers may expect that a meeting has the purpose of discussion and therefore for individuals to give their opinions, interrupt, or pitch in, whilst others may expect a meeting to have the purpose of handing down information to participants who listen and take notes. Expectations rooted in experiences of corporate culture or the culture pertinent to the specific professional sector play a role in shaping these expectations.

Contractual/legal agreements and requirements
In many countries, there is now discrimination legislation in place to prevent discrimination based on gender, race, age, etc. Rapport can be threatened if someone’s verbal or non-verbal behaviour does not agree with these contractual/legal frameworks, e.g. if, in a job interview, a woman is explicitly asked whether she expects to have any further children.