In Russian, the word “formal” has several meanings. Formal - it can be one that matches the form, that is, it is characteristic of it, and one that observes only the outward manifestation of a case to the detriment of its substance. Formal is often called something that exists only for the sake of appearance. But does the term “formal” always have a negative connotation?
Formal communication
Formal communication is also called contact masks. That is, this is such a situation when the personality characteristics of the interlocutor are not taken into account, there is no desire to understand him more deeply. Formal, as a rule, are diplomatic or other business relations, where contacts are forced and occur strictly at the official level. With this kind of communication, the interlocutors use masks of politeness, modesty, courtesy, while diligently hiding behind a set of standard smiles, gestures and body movements their true attitude to what is happening.
What is a formal relationship?
Formal communication is closely related to formal relationships in which everyone’s position is known in advance. They are determined by the rules and do not allow any going beyond the scope of the regulation. Thanks to this, a person can avoid personal relationships with those people who may seem unpleasant or undesirable for contact.
Indeed, in formal relationships, the interlocutors, as a rule, are oriented toward an external goal (for example, as in the buyer-seller relationship), and communication in this case is only a way to achieve the goal, and the interlocutor is a tool for achieving it. By the way, the more programmed the behavior of such a “tool” is, the easier it is to use it, to maintain business contact with it.
How can you relate to formal relationships?
It should be said that for a developed society, formal relations are very economical. They do not require the expenditure of emotional energy and time to try to get to know each other, develop an opinion about the interlocutor, strive to get him to him, etc. They allow you to act immediately, make contact for a short time and forget about the interlocutor immediately after achieving the desired result.
Relations that have the status of “formal” is a way to turn a community into a single organism. At the same time, everyone who does not go beyond the established rules, turns such relationships into a component of the body, rewarding in return a sense of security, stability and unity, which are the other side of formal relations.
A little more about formal relationships
If you communicate within the framework of such relations, then the result, even if it is not completely known or not necessarily positive, will still be within the expected or expected. And this means - you can prepare in advance to respond to it in a certain way.
After all, it is often not the result itself that scares us, but precisely the fact that it can catch by surprise, and a person will not be able to adequately respond. So, “formal” is such a communication algorithm that allows us to maintain relationships without getting in the way of many details and anticipating the outcome.
Relationships Accepted in Formal Organizations
The described relations can subordinate to themselves quite large groups of people who make up the organization. That is, a community where relations are clearly structured and subordinate to the charter, rules and internal regulations - this is a formal organization. The person here acts primarily as a functionary. The rationality of relations, their uniqueness and impersonality are inherent in each such organization.
True, sometimes all this can begin to take on the character of a bureaucratic structure, the signs of which are the absolutization of individual elements of the organization, the loss of the substantive goals of its activities and the subordination of functioning only to strengthening the organization itself. From here the concepts of bureaucracy, formalism and soullessness begin.
About formal law
The state is the same formal organization with strictly structured relations within it and a charter in the form of legislation that governs everything that happens.
But a citizen living in a modern state has to remember two types of law that exist in society: formal and real. Formal law is based on the Law (often imperfect) and the judicial system (often not fully developed and independent), and therefore cannot cope with the whole variety of manifestations of public life. The real right is a set of traditions, generally accepted behavioral stereotypes and repetitive phenomena of public life. And therefore, formal and informal law often do not intersect, having different areas of application.
Conclusion
As you can see, no matter what branch of public relations we endow with the term “formal”, this word can turn out to be very ambiguous. Formal relationships in any manifestation are a sign of progress only as long as they do not become a “thing in themselves”, do not turn into husks, packaging in which there is nothing.