Turn-taking

Turn-taking is a type of organization in conversation and discourse where participants speak one at a time in alternating turns. In practice, it involves processes for constructing contributions, responding to previous comments, and transitioning to a different speaker, using a variety of linguistic and non-linguistic cues.^[1]

While the structure is generally universal,^[2] that is, overlapping talk is generally avoided and silence between turns is minimized, turn-taking conventions vary by culture and community.^[3] Conventions vary in many ways, such as how turns are distributed, how transitions are signaled, or how long the average gap is between turns.

In many contexts, conversation turns are a valuable means to participate in social life and have been subject to competition.^[4] It is often thought that turn-taking strategies differ by gender; consequently, turn-taking has been a topic of intense examination in gender studies. While early studies supported gendered stereotypes, such as men interrupting more than women and women talking more than men,^[5] recent research has found mixed evidence of gender-specific conversational strategies, and few overarching patterns have emerged.^[6]