The focus of the present paper is on Erving Goffman (1922-1982), one of the most perceptive observers of the micro-world of social interaction. More specifically, the paper offers a critical examination of his work from a (socio)linguistic perspective, aiming at clarifying some of his basic concepts that have travelled from sociology to linguistics (i.e. interaction order, self-presentation, role, frame, and footing). The analysis of these notions reveals the influence of his approach on contemporary linguistic thought, as well as his equivocal contribution to the examination of real data. Conversation Analysis (CA) can be proved valuable, since, by building on Goffman’s insightful observations, it provides a recognizable method for approaching empirical data and opens up a whole new perspective on talk-in-interaction. ΛΕΞΕΙΣ-ΚΛΕΙΔΙΑ: αυτο-παρουσίαση, ιδιότητα συμμετοχής στη διεπίδραση, πλαίσιο, ρόλος, τάξη της διεπίδρασης