ABSTRACT
Erving Goffman (1959) creatively conceived the human endeavor as one in which individuals play “parts,” as though on a stage. Imagine watching early Greek theater where actors and actresses speak their lines behind masks or, literally, faces. Each “face” represents a role or emotion that the individual actor plays and experiences within the larger context of the play itself-tragedy or comedy. In the same way, each of us adopts particular personas from which we enact specifi c behaviors and emotions in our various relationships. Over time we develop a substantial investment in maintaining the “face” that represents each of the roles we play. And, inevitably, there are times when our face concerns become the primary focus of conversations and limit our abilities to interact with others in ways that are fair, just, and human. As such, it is critical that we learn to protect and enhance face, ours and our partners’, in ways that allow us to work together as equals.
