Using Conversation Analysis for Business and Management Students by David Greatbatch Timothy Clark

Author:David Greatbatch, Timothy Clark [David Greatbatch, Timothy Clark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Research
ISBN: 9781473948266
Google: YVHKtAEACAAJ
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2018-01-04T04:38:31+00:00

Peters provides the messages that evoke laughter with both emphasis and clearly projectable completion points by, inter alia, using a puzzle-solution format (Atkinson, 1984a, 1984b; Heritage and Greatbatch, 1986). Thus he begins by establishing a puzzle in the minds of the audience members (lines 1–3): what did Ross Perot see as the difference between EDS and GM? He then offers a two-part solution which is formed as a contrast (lines 3–4 and 8–9 and 11). In this way, he highlights the contents of the messages against a background of surrounding speech materials. He also provides the audience members with resources to anticipate the completion of the two messages, for they can match each part of the emerging solution to the puzzle in order to infer what it will take for it to be complete. In the case of the second part of the solution/contrast, they can also match it against the first part. In both instances, Peters confirms the relevance of laughter by ceding the floor until the audience’s laughter ends (lines 6 and 12) and then, when he resumes speaking, neither asserting nor otherwise indicating that the audience’s laughter was inappropriate or unexpected (lines 13–15).

Peters does not solely rely on the ‘humorous’ content of his remarks to establish the relevance of audience laughter; he also ‘invites’ audience laughter by using a range of nonverbal techniques. In the first case of laughter (line 6), which follows Peters’s depiction of Perot’s commendation of EDS, Peters uses comedic gestures, facial expressions and prosody. As he quotes Perot on EDS, he suddenly leans forward, glares at a section of the audience and speaks louder as he adopts a ‘mock angry’ tone (lines 4–5). Then, as he completes the quotation (‘you kill it’), he bares his teeth as he ‘spits’ out the words. Together with Perot’s incongruous metaphorical imagery – seeing and killing snakes in a corporate context – Peters’ nonverbal actions establish the possible relevance of audience laughter. In the second case of audience laughter (line 12), which follows Peters’ depiction of Perot’s disparagement of GM (lines 8–9 and 11), Peters, reverting to a ‘low key’ form of speech delivery, establishes the possible relevance of laughter by leaning forward and smiling at the audience as he completes the quotation (line 10). Thus, Peters does not solely rely on the content of his message to indicate to audience members that his message is humorous and that laughter is an appropriate response.

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