Facework: The Four Levels Of Communication

The idea of facework in the personal realm is important for everyone to understand. The mission is to raise our consciousness about the level of facework involved in communication. I learned that there are four levels of communication: the act, conversation, episode, and the lifescript. Who knew that there could be so many levels of communication? Personally, I did not know there are this many levels of communication to take into consideration. Firstly, a communication act is a statement that can be understood on several levels. Communication acts are important because they express an intention. Domenici and Littlejohn (2006) state, “Facework consists in part of certain communication acts that build, protect, or threaten the face of self or others” (p 65). Secondly, you can incorporate facework into a conversation which is a series of communication acts. Thirdly, an episode is a series of acts and/or conversations with a beginning and an end. I came to realize there are a number of countless episodes in our lives and can be just about anything: a business meeting, wedding, lunch, football game, etc. Lastly, the lifescript is what sets morals, gives meaning to events and constructs a sense of personal identity. Facework is essential because it is involved in almost any interaction based on what one says or does.
I observed these four levels of communication through an event that just occurred. Recently, a man rear-ended me at a stop light. …show more content…
I think it is critical to learn and understand facework depending on the realm because facework is an important aspect of everyone’s lives. Now that I have learned about these concepts it is hard to sit back and not think about each feature within my conversations with people. I have learned to comprehend communication acts on multiple levels, be face conscious, and to focus on the larger units of