How Structural Projection Shapes Listener Behavior during Extended Answers to Questions

• In Event: Research in Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis: Studies of Ordinary Conversational Interaction

Abstract

This study examines how structural elements within extended answers to questions shapes listener uptake. Using conversation analysis to analyze data from the CANDOR corpus, I investigate which features of multi-unit turns are associated with minimal uptake (e.g., continuers) versus more substantial recipiency (e.g., assessments, facial expressions, embodied displays). The analysis identifies two recurrent structuring practices: affect projection and structural projection. Affect projection involves signaling an evaluative or emotional stance toward what is being told (e.g., projecting humor, shock, or disapproval). Structural projection indicates where a speaker might be going with their turn, or how much of their turn is left, while also giving the listener insight into the speaker’s stance and how it connects to the overall story and answer. Under the umbrella of structural projection, I distinguish between proximal projection, which indicates that more talk is immediately forthcoming, and distal projection, which foreshadows a larger organizational trajectory (e.g., contrasts, lists, consequences). Across cases, multi-unit answers containing these projective practices are systematically associated with more robust listener uptake, including affiliative assessments and multimodal displays. These findings demonstrate that by projecting stance and structural trajectory, speakers provide recipients with resources for anticipating how a turn will unfold and when it will reach completion. Structural projection thus facilitates alignment and affiliation, enabling listeners to calibrate their responses and participate more fully. The study contributes to conversation-analytic understandings of turn design and answers, and highlights how the public display of structure supports coordination in naturally occurring interaction.

Author

• Amanda Morris