Agents seeking to establish relationships often use sports talk as an interpersonal strategy. Sports talk encompasses any conversation about sports and sports-related phenomena. This article discusses some of the factors regarding how and why sports talk can help establish relationships. Sports talk is a good conversation topic because sport has a wide following, community ties, drama, diverse themes, and relative innocence. It can help establish norms, conflict- resolution processes, gender roles, other roles, and self- presentation. Some businesses have institutionalized sports talk.
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