ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part analyses a series of telephone calls among family members, whose overall purpose is the maintaining of social relationships - to exchange news or to share 'the small events and concerns which make up their daily lives'. It shows how weather as a topic can enable participants to go beyond polite and ritualised relations, at times into intimate exchanges about their lifestyles and preferences. The part aims to comment on how many instances of small talk are based on local change, 'updating on recent happenings, movements and experiences'. It argues that the routine nature of the task in which the checkout assistants are engaged predicts the formulaic nature of the talk exchanged. The part addresses the interplay between sociability and the promotion of positive, effective customer relations and the commercial goals of selling.
