Turn-taking in political settings faces the problem of how to enable the participation of larger numbers of speakers in orderly ways; solutions have been described as offered by constrained formats like theturn-type pre-allocation systemor themediated turn-taking system. This paper describes another specific solution, atable-based turn-taking system.The study describes how facilitators managing brainstorming sessions in a participatory project exploit the spatial distribution of the citizens around tables scattered in the meeting room. By organizing discussions table by table, rather than selecting next individual speakers, the facilitators select groups and attributes specific rights and obligations to talk to “tables”, which are then treated not as a mere spatial location but as a political entity. The table-based device does not just solve problems of turn-taking management but also fosters the expression of collective opinions of the “table” as a place for building consensus.
This article examines how citizens, invited to ask questions in public plenary consultation meetings within a participatory democracy procedure in urban planning in France, point at something that has not been mentioned in the public debate, thereby challenging the recipient. More specifically, this article is interested in studying, deploying the analytical framework offered by Conversation Analysis and Interactional Linguistics, a particular French linguistic turn design adopted by the citizens: variations of ‘have you planned X?’. These interrogatives are concerned with an aspect of the procedure the citizens present as relevant, but which has not been mentioned by the professionals. By adopting a turn format that requests confirmation, citizens display caution to not attribute blame overtly to the recipient for this perceived lack. At the same time, these questions make visible how citizens orient to public and political transparency as a social and political standard the recipients are obliged to uphold.
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