Effects of interpersonal closeness on the process of storytelling between friends and strangers

Abstract

The relationship between interpersonal closeness and interaction has been widely explored by multiple researchers over the years. Studies have also found several verbal and non- verbal interactional differences between strangers and friends. However, the relationship between interpersonal closeness and storytelling process between individuals has not been extensively studied. Understanding how individuals differ in the way they share information through stories can have significant uses in the business world and implications in economic changes. Hence, this study seeks to understand how interpersonal closeness affects the process of storytelling between friends and strangers. Three Singaporean university students were asked to converse for thirty minutes in two separate data collections. Video and audio recordings were collected and analysis of the transcripts revealed differences in three components – laughter, story content and turn-taking. Further analysis into each component revealed further differences in relation to shared laughter, shared contextual content, positive and negative behaviours during interactions, interruptions and overlaps. Although limitations from the small sample size prevents generalization of the data, the findings reveal that differing degrees of interpersonal closeness do affect the way stories are shared between familiar and unfamiliar partners. With the results obtain, this paper aims to pave the way for future research into storytelling differences within the local context.