History Main / TheSocialExpert

* Cordelia Vorkosigan is the best example from the ''VorkosiganSaga''.

The Social Expert is a character with people skills, especially when dealing with large groups of people. He can recognize the social patterns in a group, figure out people's motivations, and know who the person in charge is. The Social Expert can identify who's manipulatable, who's a manipulator, and who's neither. The Social Expert can make himself likable even to his enemies, and is normally clever enough not to make very many of them.

Social expertise is an alignment-neutral skill, but it's practically a prerequisite for ManipulativeBastard, MagnificentBastard and TheChessmaster. Nearly every DeadlyDecadentCourt will have at least one, probably more. May also be TheCharmer. Subtrope of TheFace.

Protagonist Social Experts are {{Guile Hero}}es, supporting Social Experts end up as MisterExposition, and villainous ones are normally large-scale {{Manipulative Bastard}}s.

----
!!Examples:

[[AC:{{Anime}}]]
* [[spoiler: Aizen]], the BigBad of ''{{Bleach}}'' possesses this skill, [[SmugSuper when he bothers to use it]].

* [[VillainProtagonist Light Yagami]] from ''Manga/DeathNote''.
* Izaya Orihara from ''{{Durarara}}'', aside from being a complete {{Troll}} and {{Manipulative Bastard}} and claiming to "love humanity" (except for Shizuo), also performs his own social experiments, such as encouraging depressed people contemplating suicide to do so, or making suicide pacts with them and then revealing he was just kidding and thinks they are idiots, just to see if they really will commit suicide or not. Or paying people to kidnapping someone, and then paying someone else to rescue them, just to see how they'll react. Yes, Izaya is a dick.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* Mari in ''{{Salamander}}'' is a heroic version, serving as a HypercompetentSidekick in the world of politics to the TeenGenius ScienceHero, Ellen.
* Mister Wednesday from ''Literature/AmericanGods''.
* Cordelia Vorkosigan is the best example from the ''VorkosiganSaga''.
* Vetinari and Moist von Lipwig from the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' books.
* Jacky Faber of ''BloodyJack'' learned the skills she needed to become one, mostly because she had to for the sake of survival.
* ASongOfIceAndFire has quite a few, as would be expected given the high number of ManipulativeBastard and [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] characters. Tyrion Lannister is a rare example of being this trope despite most people ''not'' actually finding him all that charming or likeable, partly because they assume BeautyEqualsGoodness and he's an ugly dwarf, and partly because his DeadpanSnarker tendencies tend to irritate people.

[[AC: {{Live-ActionTV}}]]
* The title character from ''TheMentalist''.

[[AC: TabletopGames]]
* ''{{Shadowrun}}''. At least one character in the PC group needs to have good social skills to deal with the various [=NPCs=] the group will encounter. They should have high Charisma, good Etiquette skills and possibly cyberware/bioware that enhances those qualities (e.g. tailored pheromones). Such a person may be called "The Face" of the group.

* Tranio in ''TheTamingOfTheShrew'' could be seen as this. Not only does he blend in perfectly with the group of rich guys who hang around Baptista's house (despite being [[PrinceAndPauper a servant in disguise]]), he seems to have a handle on [[ZanyScheme all their schemes]] as well as his own.

[[AC: VideoGames]]
* [[spoiler: Master Li]] from ''JadeEmpire''.

[[AC:{{WebOriginal}}]]

[[AC: {{Webcomics}}]]
* [[GuileHero Terezi]] in ''{{Homestuck}}'' is the most talented manipulator of the series thanks to being the Social Expert, contrasted with [[TokenEvilTeammate Vriska]] who relies on more direct PsychicPowers.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Both Azula and Long Feng in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender''.
* Trent Lane in ''{{Daria}}'', despite a personality so laid back that his communiques are seldom and brief, is often able to identify moments of mounting tension between his sister Jane and her titular best friend. A few times throughout the series he tries to drop subtle (well, slightly subtle) hints that steer the girls towards peaceful resolution.

* Tranio in ''TheTamingOfTheShrew'' could be seen as this. Not only does he blend in perfectly with the group of rich guys who hang around Baptista's house (despite being [[PrinceAndPauper a servant in disguise]]), he seems to have a handle on all their schemes as well as his own.

* Izaya Orihara from ''{{Durarara}}'', aside from being a complete Troll and Manipulative Bastard and claiming to "love humanity" (except for Shizuo), also performs his own social experiments, such as encouraging depressed people contemplating suicide to do so, or making suicide pacts with them and then revealing he was just kidding and thinks they are idiots, just to see if they really will commit suicide or not. Or paying people to kidnapping someone, and then paying someone else to rescue them, just to see how they'll react. Yes, Izaya is a dick.

Protagonist Social Experts are {{Guile Hero}}es, supporting Social Experts end up as MisterExposition, and villainous ones are normally large-scale ManipulativeBastards.

Protagonist Social Experts are {{Guile Hero}}es, supporting Social Experts end up as MisterExposition, and villainous ones are normally large-scale Manipulative Bastards.

* [[HarryPotter Dumbledore,]] to the extent that by the time you realize the full extent of his planning and manipulation in book seven, he starts to look like a full-on [[AntiHero anti-hero]] [[MagnificentBastard magnificent bastard]].

* [[HarryPotter Dumbledore,]] to the extent that by the time you realize the full extent of his planning and manipulation in book seven, he starts to look like a full-on [[AntiHero]] [[MagnificentBastard]].

* [[VillainProtagonist Light Yagami]] from ''DeathNote''.

* ASongOfIceAndFire has quite a few, as would be expected given the high number of ManipulativeBastard and Chessmaster characters. Tyrion Lannister is a rare example of being this trope despite most people ''not'' actually finding him all that charming or likeable, partly because they assume BeautyEqualsGoodness and he's an ugly dwarf, and partly because his DeadpanSnarker tendencies tend to irritate people.

* ASongOfIceAndFire has quite a few, as would be expected given the high number of MaipulativeBastard and Chessmaster characters. Tyrion Lannister is a rare example of being this trope despite most people ''not'' actually finding him all that charming or likeable, partly because they assume BeautyEqualsGoodness and he's an ugly dwarf, and partly because his DeadpanSnarker tendencies tend to irritate people.

* Elan in ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick''.

* ''GrandmasterOfTheft'''s Cassidy Cain uses social grace as part of her traits as a ClassyCatBurglar.

* Littlefinger from GameOfThrones. In one monologue {{DistractedByTheSexy which no one will likely remember}}, he explains how this is his only way of getting back at the other nobles.

[[AC:{{WebOriginal}}]]
* ''GrandmasterOfTheft'''s Cassidy Cain uses social grace as part of her traits as a ClassyCatBurglar.

* Lelouch and Schnizel from ''CodeGeass''.

* Mister Wednesday from ''AmericanGods''.

* Vetinari and Moist von Lipwig from the ''{{Discworld}}'' books.

Social expertise is an alignment-neutral skill, but it's practically a prerequisite for ManipulativeBastard, MagnificentBastard and TheChessmaster. Nearly every DeadlyDecadentCourt will have at least one, probably more. May also be TheCharmer.

* ''{{Shadowrun}}''. At least one character in the PC group needs to have good social skills to deal with the various NPCs the group will encounter. They should have high Charisma, good Etiquette skills and possibly cyberware/bioware that enhances those qualities (e.g. tailored pheromones). Such a person may be called "The Face" of the group.

* ''{{Exalted}}'' has a threefold division between social skills, mental skills, and physical skills. Any character with high social skills is a social expert.