Face-to-Face Dialogue Theory, Research, and Applications

Face-to-face dialogue is our basic form of language use. It is, and always has been, the only form of language use that spans all cultures and societies. Face-to-Face Dialogue: Theory, Research, and Applications focuses on the unique combination of features that make face-to-face dialogue the fastest, most precise, and most skillful activity that ordinary individuals do together.

Writing for an inter-disciplinary readership, Bavelas draws on her research program of over three decades to reveal the unique features of face-to-face dialogue. Unlike written or mediated forms, face-to-face dialogue uses both speech and co-speech gestures and also permits rapid-even simultaneous-exchanges. This book demonstrates the importance of focusing on interactions rather than individuals and on specific multi-modal acts rather than all nonverbal communication. Bavelas's mixed research methods begin inductively, leading to experiments with qualitative measures. Second-by-second microanalysis uncovers details of how a dialogue works. By focusing on communication as joint action, Face-to-Face Dialogue refocuses the conversation around the science of human communication, with realizable practical applications for researchers and professionals alike.

Janet Beavin Bavelas was a Professor of Psychology at the University of Victoria, Canada, from 1970 to 2005, when she became Professor Emerita, doing full-time research and writing on both basic and applied topics. She is the co-author of a seminal work, Pragmatics of Human Communication, with Paul
Watzlawick and Don D. Jackson, and publishes journal articles and book chapters in several disciplines. Her honors include election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the International Communication Association.

Preface by the Series Editor
Preface by the Author
Acknowledgements

Chapter One: Appreciating Face-to-face Dialogue

PART I. CHANGING THE FOCUS
Chapter Two: From Individuals to Interactions
Chapter Three: From Nonverbal Communication to Co-speech Gesture
Chapter Four: Common Goals, Different Methods

PART II. INSIDE FACE-TO-FACE DIALOGUE
Chapter Five: Doing Dialogue
Chapter Six: Dialogue Favor Demonstrations
Chapter Seven: The Social Life of Hand Gestures
Chapter Eight: The Social Life of Facial Gestures
Chapter Nine: Meaning and Understanding as an Interactional Process

PART III. DIALOGUES IN APPLIED SETTINGS
Chapter Ten: Dialogues in Computer-Mediated Communication, Autism, and Medical Interactions
Chapter Eleven: Psychotherapy as Dialogue
Chapter Twelve: A Summary So Far

References
Index