Multiparty interaction: a multimodal perspective on relevance

Abstract

This article investigates a multiparty interaction in an accounting office by applying a multimodal approach to discourse (Norris, 2004a). This approach allows the incorporation of all relevant communicative modes and is based on the following three notions: 1) the notion of mediated action; 2) the notion of modal density; and 3) the notion of a foreground– background continuum of attention/awareness. The article illustrates that a social actor in a multiparty interaction simultaneously co-constructs several higher-level actions with the various participants on different levels of their attention/awareness. On a theoretical level, the article argues that traditional approaches to discourse analysis, with their unconditional focus on language as the primary mode, misconstrue the multiple higher-level actions that a social actor is engaged in simultaneously as dyadic or triadic interactions in quick succession.

Gaze and body orientation as an apparatus for patient inclusion into/exclusion from a patient-centred framework of communication

“…With her model she manages to address participants' levels of attention/awareness, offering in my view a very relevant tool for the study of PCC, since attention (and, more specifically, attentive listening, as usually found in the clinical literature) is considered as an important competency for doctors engaging in this type of communication (Robertson 2005;Silverman, Kurtz, and Draper 2005;Wouda et al 2011). More specifically, literature from the field of clinical communication suggests that attentive listening involves placing the individual's attention at the other participants' disposal (Robertson 2005 Norris 2004Norris , 2006. Interestingly, Norris (2004Norris ( , 2006 manages to illustrate the way in which ongoing interactions are linked to participants' 'phenomenal mind of consciousness', as described by Chalmers (1996, 11), by equating the latter with the notion of the 'foreground-background continuum'.…”

“…More specifically, literature from the field of clinical communication suggests that attentive listening involves placing the individual's attention at the other participants' disposal (Robertson 2005 Norris 2004Norris , 2006. Interestingly, Norris (2004Norris ( , 2006 manages to illustrate the way in which ongoing interactions are linked to participants' 'phenomenal mind of consciousness', as described by Chalmers (1996, 11), by equating the latter with the notion of the 'foreground-background continuum'. Within this framework Norris perceives participants as social actors who perform, or are engaged in, multiple and parallel HLAs, which, depending on their modal density, are placed on the continuum of the social actor's attention/awareness.…”

“…It was argued that although the parent is foregrounding the interaction with the interpreter, she is midgrounding (Norris 2006) her interaction with the doctor despite the language barrier. (Part of the parent's body is oriented to the doctor as well.)…”

“…In her attempt to capture a greater number of subtleties in multiparty interaction and shed light on under-investigated zones of it, Norris (2006) applies her 'modal density foreground-background continuum' to her multimodal research. With her model she manages to address participants' levels of attention/awareness, offering in my view a very relevant tool for the study of PCC, since attention (and, more specifically, attentive listening, as usually found in the clinical literature) is considered as an important competency for doctors engaging in this type of communication (Robertson 2005;Silverman, Kurtz, and Draper 2005;Wouda et al 2011).…”

“…In order to investigate co-constructed interactions in a more comprehensive way, Norris (2006) maintains that a two-level analysis of interaction is required. First, the analyst should identify and analyse participant-linked actions; that is, who does what with whom.…”