Verbal and nonverbal feedback signals in response to increasing levels of miscommunication

Abstract

This study aims to explore in detail how listeners respond to communication disruptions in a task-oriented dialogue. We conducted an experiment with participants playing a map task with a partner via a video conferencing system that showed seemingly random breakdowns. In fact, the breakdowns were scripted to induce increasing levels of miscommunication. After an initial interactive session, a second non-interactive session was recorded with one-sided communication from the task leader. Among the fifty or so verbal and nonverbal feedback signals observed, twelve were produced by more than half of the participants. A detailed analysis of their use in different situations, their timing and their co-occurrence, supported that they may have different functions: some appear to be personal reactions of uncertainty, misunderstanding, or inability to complete the task, whereas others were clear repair initiators or turntaking signals deliberately addressed to the interlocutor.