Power and Politeness in Professional Communication
Power and Politeness in Professional Communication

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims at analysing the existing relation between two important concepts in professional communication: power and pragmatic politeness. The focus is on the interdependence between power-enhanced professional status and pragmatic politeness manifestations. Firstly, we will concisely define the concept of power by referring to the role it plays in providing weight and relevance to interpersonal exchanges by affecting their content and quality. Secondly, we will make references to the way higher status professionals impact the existing social networks in organisations by leading to creation of specific core values that lie at the very heart of nurturing strong/weak corporate cultures. Lastly, power and pragmatic politeness are discussed from the point of view of their importance in establishing mutual respect and harmonious exchanges based on taking into consideration discourse participants’ face preservation and status upholding needs.

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