Based on work by Duncan and Fiske in the early 1970s, we know that there are “turn-taking” signals involved when speaking with another person or in a group. When a person is speaking and wants another to speak, their intonation changes. There is a rising or falling in voice tone at the end of the last phrase. The last syllable is drawn out, and a drop in voice pitch or tone when using a phrase such as “you know.”
There are also turn taking indicators such as eye gazing. When the speaker is ready to yield his/her turn, s/he will look at the other person to indicate to them to take the turn. Many times eye gazing indicates who will be the next speaker but another indication is also head turning. In some cases, head turning is a more obvious signal of who will speak next. When someone wants to speak, s/he will turn his or her whole head towards the speaker as an indication that they want a turn. To reject a turn, a person would look away or at another person—not the speaker. As a professional speaker, I have seen this time and time again. If I ask my audience a question and seek a response, I look towards different audience members. Those who don’t want to answer either look away from my gaze or look down.
Turn taking signals, which are a form of nonverbal communication, let people know when you want to talk and when you don’t. It tells others when you want them to talk and when you don’t. Using these signals can provide a smooth transition from one speaker to the next but sometimes, they don’t work because the other person is not aware of them. At times like this, sometimes you just have to jump in there and tell someone you have something to say or ask someone to speak.
