Irving Goffman

"We construct reality through shared definitions and cooperative action."

"The self emerges through the internalization of social roles."

"Interaction ritual maintains both individual dignity and social order."

"We manage our social presentation through careful attention to detail."

"Social institutions depend on the willing cooperation of performers."

"The definition we create of a situation becomes real in its consequences."

"We are all both directors and actors in the drama of social life."

"Social interaction requires the suspension of certain disbeliefs."

"The self is a collaborative achievement of all interacting parties."

"Performance and authenticity coexist in social interaction."

"We engage in impression management to maintain our social standing."

"Social life is maintained through the performance of appropriate behavior."

"The stage is everywhere when we understand social life as performance."

"We all participate in the creation of social reality through our actions."

"Interaction ritual serves to affirm the social order and our place in it."

"The presentation of self is constrained by social expectations."

"We manage the information we reveal to protect our identity."

"Social interaction is a form of collaborative storytelling."

"The self is neither wholly authentic nor entirely performed."

"We use social rituals to maintain order and harmony."

"Impression management is essential to the functioning of society."

"The definition of ourselves emerges from social interaction."

"We are all engaged in the careful management of social encounters."

"Social life requires that we respect the performances of others."

"The presentation of self is an ongoing process of negotiation."

"Performance is the means by which we create and maintain social reality."

"We all perform our lives according to social scripts and expectations."

"The self is constructed through interaction and maintained through performance."

"Social interaction depends on the suspension of certain critical faculties."

"We engage in face-work to preserve our own dignity and that of others."