Office banter

In all of the office settings I’ve worked, there is always water cooler banter, social chats in the hallways or informal gatherings around someone’s cubicle. Usually, a senior person initiates this break from work and others will join in on the conversation.

I’ve observed in boardroom meetings that the conversation will often switch from work to personal stories only when the highest ranking person in the room, the President or VP of Sales, decides to take the conversation that way. Since they are the leader and hold the power in the room, people are comfortable following suit since they are engaged in friendly banter.

Speaking styles are also mimicked, as someone starts talking about personal stories, say about their boyfriend, and then the other person will disclose information about their relationship and match their style. If, in a casual conversation, the person you were speaking to starts using slang, then you understand that it is ok to use slang as well. Linguist Deborah Tannen noted that in the companies she observed, the general pattern was: the higher a man’s rank, the more likelihood there was of cursing. Interesting observation – have you noticed that as well?