Politeness Strategies and Power Relations Depicted in Shark Tank Pitch Discourse

Muhammad Nur Assyddyq; Listya Arum Ridhawati

doi:10.22146/lexicon.v13i1.117999

Politeness Strategies and Power Relations Depicted in Shark Tank Pitch Discourse

https://doi.org/10.22146/lexicon.v13i1.117999

Muhammad Nur Assyddyq⁽¹⁾, Listya Arum Ridhawati^(2*)

(1) Politeknik Negeri Bandung, Indonesia
(2) Politeknik Negeri Bandung, Indonesia
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study analyzes politeness strategies and power asymmetry in entrepreneurial investment pitches by qualitative discourse analysis of 10 complete Shark Tank interactions (Seasons 12–16). Brown and Levinson (1987) politeness theory, refined by Fathi (2024), and Fairclough (2015) critical discourse analysis are applied to seven deal-successful and three no-deal pitches at the investment request, investor critique, and negotiation or rejection stages. The investigation found that deal-successful entrepreneurs used a range of strategies across three phases, while no-deal entrepreneurs relied on a single strategy under investor pressure. The use of topic control, interrogative sequencing, and evaluative reformulation consistently reinforced power imbalances, but individual instances imply that this power is created through interaction rather than predetermined by structure. Overall, the findings indicate that strategic flexibility—not specific politeness choices—is key for effective discourse management in high-stakes investment pitches, and that sociolinguistic analysis can reveal important communication patterns that outcome-focused studies have yet to examine systematically.

Keywords

Politeness Strategies; Power Asymmetry; Entrepreneurial Pitch Discourse; Face-Threatening Acts; Shark Tank

Full Text:

PDF

References

Austin, J. L. (2023). How to Do Things with Words. Echo Point Books and Media.

Behzadpoor, S.-F. (2023). Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Theory Revisited: Rejection or Acceptance? Applied Linguistics Inquiry, 1, 74–82. https://doi.org/10.22077/ali.2022.5755.1006

Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Cambridge University Press.

Clark, C. (2008). The Impact of Entrepreneurs’ Oral ‘Pitch’ Presentation Skills on Business Angels’ Initial Screening Investment Decisions. An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 10(3), 257–279.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design International (4th Ed.). Sage Publications.

Duong, L. (2025). ‘Start with A Bold Statement’–Gendered Displays of Confidence in Entrepreneurial Pitching. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 37(5–6), 653–670. https://doi.org/10.1080/08985626.2024.2448665

Fairclough, N. (2010). Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language (2nd Edition). Routledge.

Fairclough, N. (2015). Language and Power (3rd Ed.). Routledge.

Fathi, S. (2024). Revisiting Brown and Levinson’s Theory of Politeness. European Journal of Language and Culture Studies, 3(5), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejlang.2024.3.5.137

Fernández-Vázquez, J. S., & Álvarez-Delgado, R. C. (2020). Persuasive Strategies in the SME Entrepreneurial Pitch: Functional and Discursive Considerations. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istrazivanja, 33(1), 2342–2359. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677x.2019.1683462

García-Gómez, A. (2018). Dragons’ Den: Enacting Persuasion in Reality Television. Discourse, Context and Media, 21, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2017.09.014

Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction Ritual: Essays in Face-To-Face Behavior. Aldine Publishing Company.

Harris, S. J. (1997). Managing Language: The Discourse of Corporate Meetings (J. L. Mey, H. Parret, & J. Verschueren, Eds.). John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Holmes, J., & Stubbe, M. (2014). Power and Politeness in The Workplace: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Talk at Work. Routledge.

Hu, Y., & Zhou, Y. (2024). Analysis of Politeness Strategies from The Perspective of The Interpersonal Function of Language in Systemic Functional Grammar. Scholars International Journal of Linguistics and Literature, 7(03), 96–100. https://doi.org/10.36348/sijll.2024.v07i03.006

Kalvapalle, S. G., Phillips, N., & Cornelissen, J. (2024). Entrepreneurial Pitching: A Critical Review and Integrative Framework. Academy of Management Annals, 18(2), 550–599. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2022.0066

Kinansha, V. A., & Hanidar, S. (2023). Politeness Strategies of Requests in The TV Series Grey’s Anatomy Season 2. Lexicon, 10(2), 82. https://doi.org/10.22146/lexicon.v10i2.76343

Koester, A. (2006). Investigating Workplace Discourse. Routledge.

Kreutzer, K. (2022). On The Discursive Construction of Social Entrepreneurship In Pitch Situations: The Intertextual Reproduction of Business and Social Discourse By Presenters and Their Audience. Journal of Business Ethics, 179(4), 1071–1090. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05161-7

Lakoff, R. (1973). Language and Woman’s Place. Harper and Row.

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Sage Publications.

Locher, M. A., & Watts, R. J. (2005). Politeness Theory and Relational Work. Journal of Politeness Research.

Lyashuk, A. (2024). Facework Display of A Political Leader: Linguo-Rhetoric Approach (The Case Study of Julia Gillard’s Speech on Misogyny). Forum for Linguistic Studies, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.59400/fls.v6i1.1996

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis (3rd Ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.

Morand, D. A. (1996). Dominance, Deference, and Egalitarianism in Organizational Interaction: A Sociolinguistics Analysis of Power and Politeness. Organization Science, 7(5), 544–556.

Pellegrini, M. T. (2023). ’F---- Shark Tank:’ Rethinking The Centrality of The Business Pitch in Microenterprise Entrepreneurship. Technical Communication Quarterly, 33(4), 379–394.

Pollack, J. M., Rutherford, M. W., & Nagy, B. G. (2012). Preparedness and Cognitive Legitimacy As Antecedents of New Venture Funding in Televised Business Pitches. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 36(5), 915–939. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2012.00531.x

Prados, M. D. (2019). Verbal and Nonverbal Engagement Devices in Business Persuasive Discourse: The Elevator Pitch. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Searle, J. (1969). Speech Acts: An Essay in The Philosophy of Language. Cambridge University Press.

Spencer-Oatey, H. (2006). Culturally Speaking: Managing Rapport in Talk Across Cultures. Continuum. https://archive.org/details/culturallysoeaki0000unse

Thornborrow, J. (2015). The Discourse of Public Participation Media. Routledge.

Tomlinson, E. C. (2020). Stasis in The Shark Tank : Persuading an Audience of Funders to Act on Behalf of Entrepreneurs. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 34(3).

Watts, R. J. (2003). Politeness. Cambridge University Press.

Yepdia, L. W. (2025). Face-Threatening Acts and Face Management in MTN Cameroon Text Messages: A Sociolinguistic and Pragmatic Approach. Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 13(5), 10–29. https://doi.org/10.37745/gjahss.2013/vol13n51029

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/lexicon.v13i1.117999