10 lessons in conversation science

Last year we kicked off our blog?talking about talking, an?investigative?series?all about the?nature and science of conversation. Why? We believe the health of our conversations can be improved. In order to do that, we're illuminating the unseen aspects of this familiar but complex behaviour.

Not to worry if you missed out.?We've?hand picked?ten lessons you can take with you into the new year.

?? Ten lessons about conversation

#1 Not all speech is conversation – not all talk shared between people is conversation either.

Conversation is actually a very specific?phenomenon, with specific criteria. It is defined by?symmetry?and its components are?Direction, Form, and Function. Might be worth checking if you've been doing?something else?all along...

#2 We're dreadful at detecting who has spoken the most.

It's called?volubility?and you'd be amazed how often we get it wrong.?

#3?People want conversation rules! They just might not know it...?

Ditching spontaneity?in favour of clear rules for group conversation is unlikely to destroy its natural 'flow'. It's actually been shown to alleviate anxiety and increase?participant openness. Here's?why.

#4 "Conversation analytic research is among the most cited in academia, even compared to 'hard science' disciplines."

We've always felt that all roads lead back to conversation...

Turns out we were right! And you can find this fact in Elizabeth's Stokoe's book, Talk: The Science of Conversation.

#5?Perceiving debate and arguments as a win-or-lose battle can actually change our cognition,?and subsequently style of everyday?communication.

On the contrary, practitioners of?Vādic?argumentation?would probably find competitive arguments absurd. Why? They associate argumentation as?an opportunity for?learning, not triumph. (Let's be honest, we're all guilty.)

#6?If you want to argue, just make sure to switch on "safe mode".

This and other techniques like?Plussing, or identifying?Class 1 and Class 2 disagreements?allow us to hijack oppositional conversation for our benefit.

#7?Women consistently?moderate their volubility (aka speaking time)?regardless?of their rank or status.

Given that even quieter women can be perceived to have spoken?more than they actually do, this is?unsurprising.

#8?When did the first human language emerge? Truth is nobody really knows.

Until recently, the consensus was our larynxes descended into our throats around two hundred thousand years ago. But in 2019,?a group of speech scientists found evidence our anatomy may have evolved to support basic vocalisations over twenty?million?years ago. We dug deep in?What is a Conversation –?Part 1.?

#9?Without conversation, our species may never have congregated.

Language was?basically the great leveller. It enabled us to keep?company with strangers?instead of competing?with them.?Maybe it's time to?re-learn the very earliest lessons of the past?

#10?Conversation equity = innovation and profit.

Conversation equity is one of the most reliable ways to?activate?knowledge potential in organisations. Why does this matter??Knowledge potential?is the driving force behind creative, technological and managerial?innovations. Another metric is the increase in profitability these innovations have brought to business.

. . .

The good news is there's loads more to come. When it comes to understanding conversation better, we're determined?to lift the veil for anyone and everyone. If these lessons have been valuable to you, pass them?forward.

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