In conversation, we rely not only on the composition of our turns (the words, grammar, and prosody of our talk), our gaze, the inclusion of gestures and other embodied behavior but also its position in ongoing interaction to form our social actions (e.g., what phase of interaction does it come in; whether it is initiating or responsive; whether it is preliminary to a main request or offer or is inserted between that request and a response). Relatedly, recipients of actions rely on both the composition and the position to shape when and how they respond (e.g., how fulsome is the response; whether there is an account for the response). In this workshop, we will focus on three main aspects of sequential organization: how to identify different types of sequences (e.g., base, pre-, insert, post); how sequential organization intersects with turn design; and why any study of conversational practices needs to consider the role of sequence organization.

Facilitated by: Tanya Stivers