Creating Faces and Masks

The positive self you want others to see and believe is your face (Goffman, 1955). Face doesn’t just happen; you actively create and present it through your communication. Your face can be anything you want it to be: perky and upbeat, cool and levelheaded, cynical and detached.

You create different faces for different situations. Sometimes your face is a mask: an outward presentation designed to cover private aspects of your self (Goffman, 1955). For example, suppose you have an interview coming up for a new job. The night before, you find out someone close to you has died. When you meet with your potential new boss, you act upbeat, engaging, and competent—even though you want to curl up on the floor and cry. Sometimes you adopt masks to protect others. Paramedics often do this when they talk in calm, comforting tones to keep severely injured accident victims from going into shock.