Hello Blog! Today we will be talking about using the Face Negotiation Theory while traveling. We will analyze what the theory is and how to use it. Before traveling it is important to do your research into what type of cultures you are going to be interacting with. It is inevitable that you will be interacting with people who have different values than you. It often happens that people pity a tourist for not fully understanding their culture, but in reality they might see you as disrespectful. It is important to research and seek different perspectives of what traveling to a specific city might be like.
Ting-Toomey’s Face Negotiation Theory is a great example of how to respect people of other cultures while still staying true to your own. Her goal is to help people manage intercultural conflict. When traveling to different places, it is important to be knowledgeable and mindful. To be knowledgeable while traveling means to have some idea of how you might differ from the people around you. To be mindful means to recognize that things might not be what they seem. The whole point of the Face Negotiation Theory is learning how people protect their “face.” Face is the projected image of one’s self in a relational situation (pg. 436). It is the way we want others to see us. Ting-Toomey argues that “face is an explanatory mechanism for conflict styles” (pg. 436). Many cultures are value collectivism and some value individualism, it is important to know which cultures value which distinction while traveling. What we can learn from this theory is to be knowledgeable, mindful, establish interaction skills. Ting-Toomey also identified five distinct responses when there is a moment of conflict. Those are avoiding, withdrawing, obliging, compromising, dominating, and intriguing. These labels are used with conflict management.
My advice to all of you would to be mindful of your “face” and others “face” while on a trip. It is often that we hurt other when we try to protect ourselves. If you are traveling, you might encounter some conflict with locals because they can see tourists as threat that may strip their culture. While visiting, understand that you are a tourist and is your job to do your research so that you do not disrespect locals. Overall, know the situation you are going into. In Girl Scouts I learned to “leave a place cleaner than you found it” this can be applied to many situations. I believe that is is important to leave a city without leaving any sign of disrespect. Many towns value tourists because it helps with their economy but we also know that some locals find it annoying because they leave having not following the values that their cultures value. Be kind and be respectful.
Citations:
Griffin, Emory A., et al. A First Look at Communication Theory. McGraw-Hill Education, 2019.