The Listener as Addressee in Face-to-Face Dialogue

Abstract

Face-to-face conversation is a unique listening setting, with a particular kind of listener; the person the speaker is directly addressing is the addressee. Our research program has included several experiments involving detailed, reliable examinations of the subtle yet crucial behaviors that addressees use to collaborate with the speaker in face-to-face dialogue. We have found that addressees respond to speakers using either generic back channels (e.g., “m-hm” or nodding) or responses that specify what the addressee has understood (e.g., opening eyes wide to show surprise). Addressees timed these specific responses to precise moments in the speaker's narrative, and they tailored their responses to that moment (e.g., wincing when the speaker described something painful). Distracting addressees with a task that prevented them from following the speakers' narratives made these addressees unable to contribute specific responses, which, in turn, had a deleterious effect on the speakers' storytelling. Further research showed that addressees who were not distracted used a wide variety of behaviors to contribute to dialogue without interrupting the speaker, such as brief vocalizations, facial displays, and even gestures. Speakers and addressees regulated the timing of addressee responses using an interactive pattern of gaze. Addressees also indicated understanding by their formulations, which summarized or paraphrased what the speaker had said. However, our analysis showed that these formulations were not neutral. The analysis of addressees in face-to-face dialogue generates a deeper understanding of the listening process and has implications for listening in applied settings, such as psychotherapy or health care interactions.