Pauses: silence between turns.

Pauses can be: simple hesitations or Silences.

Overlaps: both speakers trying to speak at the same time.

With pauses and Overlaps: NO FLOW, no SMOOTH RHYTHM to their transitions, SENSE of
DISTANCE, ABSENCE OF FAMILIARITY or ease.

Attributable Silences

One “silence” could be NOT attributable to one speaker (Ex. P.73).

If the silence is attributed to the second speaker and becomes significant: ATTRIBUTABLE
SILENCE.

In that case Speaker A turns over the floor to Speaker B and S.B. does not talk. That silence is
communicating something.

OVERLAP

• The normal expectation: one speaker at a time.

• Overlap: a problem for the local management system.

• Typically: when both speakers attempt to initiate talk.

• May be due to: a) unfamiliar conversation b) expression of solidarity or closeness.

• It solves: 1 speaker draws attention to be allowed to finish.

TRP

• Transition Relevance Place.

• Normally Speaker B will wait for a possible TRP before jumping in.

• Dominant people will avoid providing TRPs.

• Avoid TRPs: avoid an open pause at the end of a syntactic unit. The speaker PROTECTS
HIS TURN.

• Extended turn: S A. indicates at first there is a larger structure to your turn. (Ex. P.75).
Discussions/ Storytelling.
BACKCHANNELS

Ways of indicating we are listening.

Head nods, smiles, other facial expressions, gestures.

Backchannels: one way of signalling we are listening. (uh,uh; mm)

They indicate the listener is following and not objecting to what the speaker says.

Normal expectation: backchannel. No backchannel is significant.