Abstract

Based on 10 authentic audio-recorded data, the study aims to explore the dynamics of the insurance sales agent-client interactions in transformational China’s rural areas from a socio-cultural perspective. It sets out from generalizing the specific discursive patterns from moves and steps (Askehave & Swales, 2001; Bhatia, 2005) of the utterances made in the agent-client interactions, governed by communicative purposes. For the first move, warming up, it deserves more attention as it serves crucial functions in the interactions. The paper delineates the different types and functions of warming up, and relates them to the underlying operating mechanism of rural agent-client interactions; another vital move, establishing credentials and trust, has also been analyzed in details, since trust is the pillar stone in the conclusion of insurance sales. Through the analysis, we hope to depict the transforming nature of the modern Chinese rural society, where old and traditional value system has been, for a large part, demolished, while new value system is yet to be established.

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