Lecture 3 Speaking Skills (Cont.

)
Turn Taking Conversation is not
chaos.
-

A cyclical process.
Begins with one person
speaking, and continue as the
speaker gives up control to the
next person.
When the second speaker
finished, they give control
back to another speaker.
Creating a cycle.
Stops when there is nothing
left to say. (Woodburn, Arnott,
Newell, and Procter)

Two central Aspects:

1. Frequency
-

Amount of turn taking within a

conversation.
Eg. 2 person (High), Lecture
(Low)

2. Control of Contribution
-

Amount of control a person

has over what to say and how
much to say.
Eg. Letter (Complete control);
Religious ritual (Less control,
rule dependent)

Turn Attached to the speaker

Speaker Someone creating some
sort of speech act directed towards
towards an audience.
Conversation Combination of
organized utterances and turns, used
with purpose among speakers.
No gap, no overlap model Ideal
model that when one speaker stops
speaking, the other begins in a
predictable manner with no gaps or
overlaps.
Listener interprets a variety of cues
from the speaker, including sematic
and syntactic units.

Interruptions When an interrupter

inhibits the speaker from finishing
their turns.
Overlaps When the next speaker
overlaps the first speakers turn.
Grabbing the floor When a
listener interrupts the holder of the
floor, thus taking over.
Hogging the floor When a
speaker takes a long time on the
floor and ignores others attempting
to take the floor.
Silence Sign of turn taking
violations, can follow interruptions or
when someone hogs the floor too
long.
Smooth polite and appropriate
turn taking
-

Specific phrases
Gestures and other body
language
Noises (Um and Ah)
Speaking a certain way (Using
intonation to show that you
have or have not finished
saying)

Taking the turn

1. Intterupting
a. Before I forget
b. Before you continue
c. Can I interrupt you for a
moment?
2. Accepting the turn when
offered it
a. Thanks
b. What I wanted to say
was
3. Speaking first
a. Although you probably
know more about this
than me
b. Can I go ahead?
Keeping your turn
1. Refusing interruption
a. Just one more thing..

b. Before you reply

2. Getting back on track
a. As I was saying
b. Getting back to the
point at hand
Getting other people speaking
1. Getting other person to
speak first
a. After you
b. Please go ahead.
2. Offering other people
the chance to speak
a. Id be interested in
hearing your take on
it.
b. Am I right?
3. Asking for more more
details
a. And then?
b. What happened?

4. Keeping other people

speaking
a. Im sorry to hear
that.
b. Glad to hear it!
Turning down the chance to
speak
1. I cant add anything to that
2. Im still digesting what you
said
Changing your mind about
interrupting
1. I was going to interrupt, but
2. Ill let you finish.
Ending your interruption
1. Sorry, you were saying?
2. Sorry, please carry on.