Analysis of Expertise Currency in Hitch

Analysis of Expertise Currency in Hitch

        Within the movie Hitch, there are many different concepts of interpersonal communication.  This paper will focus on is expertise currency, a type of nonverbal power currency.  This paper will explore the meaning and outcome of the use of expertise currency in one specific scene of the movie, and overlook the interpersonal communication competence of the characters as a whole.  

        The movie excerpt from Hitch starts out by following a journalist named Sara as she brings news back to her newspaper of a man cheating on his girlfriend, an heiress named Allegra.  The audience quickly learns that most of Sara’s life is focused on work.  The scene changes to Hitch, also known as the Date Doctor, in the bar flaunting his charm.  The audience learns that Hitch gained his dating skill from getting his heart crushed in college.  He chose to let the rest of the world know his secrets by creating a job out of it.  His new client, Albert who is large and very sloppy, seems like a hopeless cause because of his deep liking for Allegra, who is one of his tax advisor clients.  Hitch takes him in anyways.  The next day Albert is in a meeting with Allegra and the other higher up tax advisors to discuss an investment Allegra would like to make.  When the other tax advisors turn her down Albert stands up for her and declares she should be able to make her own decisions.  Albert storms out to his office, quitting his job on an impulse.  Allegra follows him and explains she wants to meet up with him to discuss her investment.  The scene changes to Sara being hit on by a stranger in the bar.  Hitch swoops in to save her with his quick thinking and also learns some interesting things about her as well.  

        There are many different ways to show power.  One of these involves the use of power currencies, specifically expertise currency.  A power currency is a value that other’s view as important or valuable.  Expertise currency, “compromises special skills or knowledge.  The more highly specialized and unique the skill or knowledge you have, the more expertise power you possess,” (McCornack, 251).  Expertise is not common sense but a specific learned skill.  For example, on a resume people put down their different skills in hope that they are selected for the job.  The applicant with the most skills pertaining to the job holds the highest amount of expertise currency for this position.  Expertise currency also plays a considerable role in who holds the power in interpersonal communication, which is the exchange of information between two or more people.  For example, when two people are communicating and voicing their thoughts in a meeting, the person with the higher expertise currency will have more power over the conversation and more sway over others in the meeting.  However, the person with no expertise currency will not have influence because he lacks understanding of the topic.    

        In one particular scene of Hitch, Allegra is in a meeting with the board of tax advisors.  Not knowing much about economy and investments, she is there to discuss what she would like to spend part of her fortune on.  Allegra explains that her friend has a fashion business and she wishes to help by investing half a million dollars in her company.  By using loudness, posture and maintaining eye contact, Allegra shows that she is serious in pursuing this investment.   When turning to the lead advisor, he exerts his knowledge and opinion to Allegra and feels that this could be worked out; however it will take a couple months to make arrangements.  He questions and clarifies with Allegra when asking ‘okay?’.  Allegra, nonetheless, shows a disappointed facial expression, since she had wished to invest her money instantly.

        In this scene Allegra decides to seek out the opinions of the tax advisors because she believes they have expertise currency.  When the tax advisor comments back with his decision, he views her as having little to no expertise currency on this subject.  He replies that they need a couple months to figure out arrangements and plans, therefore keeping her on her toes.  This alters the relational outcomes in terms of power.  Allegra values the lead tax advisor’s expertise currency as a high sense of power.  For this reason, she feels inclined to heed his instructions.  The lead tax advisor believes that since he has such a high expertise currency, it is in Allegra’s best interest to follow his advice, and he consequently has leverage over her.

        It is necessary to be appropriate, ethical and effective in your conversation to achieve interpersonal communication competence.  In this scene both characters, Allegra and the tax advisor did well in communicating with appropriateness, or the way communication meets norms.  Allegra and the tax advisor communicated politely about a topic appropriate for them to talk about.  Both characters show ethics, sets of moral principles that control our behavior.  Neither character intentionally hurt another’s feeling or physical being.  Effectiveness involves using communication to accomplish interpersonal goals.  Allegra was ineffective on instrumental goals, a goal that includes achieving something through communication.  In this case her instrumental goal was acquiring the approval of her investment.  Although, she was effective in her self-presentation goal, presenting yourself in ways you want to be seen. She showed respectable posture, and eye contact to demonstrate she was professional.  There were no relational goals in this scene, which are goals that focus on either building or ending a relationship.  Conversely, Allegra’s effectiveness could be improved with simple techniques.  These consist of making sure her arms are not crossed and standing in the kindly brontosaurus position, a pose that has been suggested to have persuasive powers.