The purpose of this paper is threefold. Firstly. I want to outline the major ways in which the study of rules of speaking can provide insights into the norms and values of a speech community. Secondly. I will discuss ways in which the same material can provide information about the interaction process and the situations in which interlocutors negotiate their relationships with one another. Lastly, I will put forth a theory concerning patterns of interaction within a general middle class American speech community.