COMU1010

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COMU1010 Interpersonal and Intercultural
Communication Richard Fitzgerald The Art of
Conversation. Some structure and rules for
conversation            Organisation       
Turn taking         Maxims
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Doing Conversation.   1. Conversations do not
just happen, they have to initiated, maintained
and closed
2. There are conversational actions that are
appropriately done at certain times and not
other times
3. Overwhelmingly conversation is morally
governed.
4. Implications about character may be made from
inappropriate, misplaced, or absent
conversational actions

•        Conversation is artfully constructed.
• Conversation is a morally accountable action.

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• Conversational Slots
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• Appropriate actions for at appropriate times.
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• The 5 Stages of conversation- (De Vitos Model
  of Conversation)
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•         Opening Usually a greeting,
•         Feedforward, Topic introduction (bid
  for extended turn)
•         Business, Goal directed Purpose
•         Feedback, reflect back, that the
  business is done
• Closing. Tokens and arrangements.

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Initiating conversations Initiating a
conversation means opening up the possibility of
interaction. Establishing a relationship for just
this here and just this now. Phatic Communion
establishing the basis for talk. Hello, Hi, Hey
Dude.   A Hello B Hello
Perceived Warrant for initiation A Hello
? B ((silence)) A Dont you remember me?
Warrant for initiation A Hello, can you help
me please
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Asking a Question to gain the floor. Adjacency
pairs The expected response from a question is an
answer to the question. First pair part. Do you
come here often?   Second pair part
Response   After completion of the second pair
the conversational floor returns to the
originator of the question.  
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(made up scenario?) A Hi, have you got the
time? B half past three A Are you waiting for
the number 37? B Yes A do you want to go out
with me? Notice here the possibility of
Chaining, of creating a sequence of paired
actions question answer, greeting/return
greeting.
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Everyone has to lie (Sacks 1995) As Phatic A
Hi how are you? B Oh fine thanks and
you? A fine. Ok so what seems to be the
problem? B Well its my back
As Adjacency Pairs A Hi how ya going B
Fine, and yourself A busy B yeh me too
As complete A Hi B Hi
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Greeting items and greeting places There are
greeting items such as Hello, Hi, etc but also
greeting places (slots) where greetings and other
things should go where the first action shapes
the content of the second action.   A Hi Im
Richard B oh hi Im Karen   Things to
avoid. Giving a greeting half way through. Asking
for someones name halfway through the
conversation when it has been given at the
introduction. Not knowing the name of someone you
should know. Others?
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Other paired actions include   Non Verbal.
Bringing something Action Pair (thank you)
  Summons-Answer Phone introductions Who
speaks first?   A Ring Ring B Hello?   Is this
a first pair part or second pair part?
Who owns the silence? A Hi
((silence)) Absent greetings gosh hes
rude/arrogant/deaf
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• Some aspects of conversation.
• Formal/informal conversation.
• Speech Exchange System - Pre allocation of turns.
• Conversations have turn slots and actions
  allocated before the interaction takes place
  What is said, by whom, and when. Some more than
  others.
• Wedding ceremony
• Job Interview
• Lecture
• Doctors consultation
• Meeting the parents.

The amount of pre allocation indicates the type
of interaction the event is along a
formal/informal continuum. I-(ordinary)---------
------(Teaching)--------------(Wedding
Ceremony)-I
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Thus, the amount of pre allocation indicates
the type of interaction the event is along a
formal/informal continuum. I-(ordinary)-------
------(Teaching)--------------(Wedding
Ceremony)-I
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Turn Taking Turn allocation.   1. Turn
Taking Occurs
2. One speaker tends to talk at a time
3. Turns are taken with little gap or
overlap between them
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Turn Allocation (Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson
1974)         1. Current speaker selects next
speaker A What do you think John? J (3.0)
Well it seems to me.
       2. If no selection has been made then
anyone can self select A And so that was it
really (3.0) B So what I C well I think
we should do is.
        3. If no one self selects than current
speaker my continue A So what do you think of
that?
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Extended Sequences bidding for an extended
turn. Story/ joke telling.  Self initiated A
Have you heard the one about? B no but youre
gona tell us   A a funny thing happened on the
way here today B what?
 Invited A john, tell us about the time. B
well it all started
Children Learn A do you know what? B what?
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  Back Channeling- giving appropriate listener
responses   Giving the floor back   A and as
I was saying B yeh A well you should have seen
her shoes   Media Example. Where Continuers
become dangerous.
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Invitations Insertion and Preference sequences
A question and answer initiated, attended to
and completed within another adjacency pair.
Insertion Sequence A would you like to go out
with me? (Q1) -gtB can I bring Karen? (Q2) -gtA
yes (A2) B then yes I would (A1)
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Closings -
Closing a conversation does not just happen it
has to be brought to a close through a number of
stages to the mutual satisfaction of the
participants.
As topics usually occur naturally developing from
each other the possibility of interactional space
not being available to introduce a topic is taken
into account.
Any Other Business, Possible pre-closings Floor
offering device - Soooo, O.K, We-ell
Making arrangements ring me, talk to later, see
you soon
Closing tokens- Bye bye.
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There is a set of overarching assumptions
guiding the conduct of conversation.   Grices
Maxims of conversation. Guidelines for the
efficient and effective use of language in
conversation. Under the general heading of the
Co-operative principle.  
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• Co-operative principle Make your contribution
  such as is required, at the stage at which it
  occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of
  the talk exchange in which you are engaged.
• Maxim of Quantity

• Maxim of Quality

• Maxim of Relevance

• Maxim of Manner

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• Grice's Conversational Maxims
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• Maxim of Quantity
• Make your contribution to the conversation as
  informative as necessary.

2. Do not make your contribution to the
conversation more informative than necessary.
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• Maxim of Quality
• Do not say what you believe to be false.
• Do not say that for which you lack adequate
  evidence.

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Maxim of Relevance Be relevant (i.e., say
things related to the current topic of the
conversation).
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• Maxim of Manner
• Avoid obscurity of expression.
• Avoid ambiguity. Be brief (avoid unnecessary
  wordiness).
• Be orderly.

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It is not that these guidelines are followed
to the letter as clearly in most conversations
they are not but that these principles are
Oriented to, that hearers assume that contrary to
appearances the principles are being addressed at
some deeper level.
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Co-operative Principle. Eg. A. Wheres
Bill? B Theres a yellow VW outside Karens
house.  
Literally Bs answer fails to answer As
question. However, despite the apparent
disjuncture sense can be made and it can be seen
that B is in fact attending to As question. As
hearers, acting on the assumed co-operative
principle, we see the response as an answer to
the question we actively repair the possible
disjuncture if there is no reason to doubt the
co-operative principle is in action. That is we
repair a disjuncture by generating an account
of what could be the case.
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Maxim of Quantity Be as informative as necessary
to communicate the intended meaning.   We
routinely gloss our responses through a
recipient design. We interpret the
question/interaction in relation to the assumed
knowledge orientation of the other.
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A How did you get here?
B Well my parents met at a dance in Wigan and
then after a courtship lasting three years
decided to get married. After this they set up
home in Manchester and took on various jobs.
After a while they decided to have children and..
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Or   B I woke up at 6am but went back to sleep
again before dragging myself out of bed and into
the shower. After two cups of tea and some toast
I got dressed and walked out of my front door.
Turning left and walking one hundred steps I then
turned right and walked..
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Or.. B I got the bus     That is, we
routinely gloss the details.
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Glossing.. A How was your day? B What do you
mean A Just how was your day? B What do mean,
in terms of how emotionally satisfying it was?,
how my interactions went, whether I did any
work, if I enjoyed lunch? A really, just how
was your day? B I am not sure what you mean by
the question A off!
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The Maxim of Quality.   Say what you know or
assume to be true and not false assume the
others information is accurate/true etc.
  Maxim of Relevance (or Relation in De
Vito) Talk about what is relevant to the
conversation. Stay with the topic assume that
information given without signaling a topic shift
is related to the current topic.   (Grice) A
hi nice weather we are having B I had chips for
lunch
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Maxim of Manner.   Be brief A Walk up to the
door and turn the handle clockwise as far as it
will go, then push hard. A Open the door
Be orderly   A The lone ranger rode off into
the sunset and jumped on his horse 1.
This essay is clearly written 2. This essay is
written clearly.
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At this writing, well over 100,000 American
troops are in Iraq. It appears that Osama Bin
Laden is still alive but on the run. Saddam
Hussein is captured and awaits trial and
judgement of the Iraqi people. While building
schools and hospitals, suicide bombers target
hotels and embassies within Iraq. (Robert
Denton Jr 2004 ix)
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Next week Mediat(ing) Communication. What to do
in conversations 1. Rhetoric 2. Persuasion
3. Face