Values in life

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Apa ayng sudah di semboyangkan?

 Key: There were two keys in which most conversation was conducted. The business key was official and by the rules (Roberts Rules of Order). The joking parts were light and friendly.
Instrument: We met face to face. Notes of the meeting were taken by the recording secretary and would be referred to in subsequent meetings as minutes. An agenda was also used.
Norms: There were many norms within these board meetings. One stated norm was to "be on time." However, there was a competing norm that people within this community engage in activities on what they call, "Puerto Rican time." This sense of time is more fluid and could be any time within a larger range. These competing norms both seemed to be used by different participants and it sometimes made conducting official business difficult.  For example, when someone arrived at a meeting late, the other participants would account for this action by saying, "she's on Puerto Rican time."
Genre: There was a genre that’s called relajo in Spanish. It’s a form of joking that plays with the idea of respect (or respeto). For example, one time a couple of board members were joking about calling the President of the board, your highness or "oh great one." This type of joking was making fun of the very real role distinctions that are made between participants and that one role is deserving of more respect.
Usefulness of S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G. analysis
Once all of these areas have been discovered, you will be more likely to be able to communicate appropriately in a cross-cultural situation. For instance, in a board meeting you might not fault individuals for being late if you knew they were operating on "Puerto Rican time." Likewise, by knowing that the use of titles is expected, you would not fall into the trap of being disrespectful by calling everyone by first name.

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