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The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

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THE BOOK OF TELLS<br />

talk. Interrupters who are serious about taking the floor<br />

may need to go beyond this point, and in the process they<br />

lay themselves open to the accusation that they are interrupting.<br />

Half-hearted interruptions tend to peter out before<br />

they get to this stage.<br />

Interruptions are affected by a variety <strong>of</strong> factors, including<br />

status, gender, familiarity and culture. When there's a<br />

status difference, the high-status person is more likely to<br />

interrupt the low-status person. 5 On balance men are<br />

more likely to interrupt women than vice versa. In this<br />

context interruption is <strong>of</strong>ten used as a means <strong>of</strong> exercising<br />

control over the conversation and therefore over the other<br />

person. That's why men are more likely to interrupt women<br />

during the early stages <strong>of</strong> acquaintance - when they're<br />

treating them as women rather than individuals and trying<br />

to assert themselves. People have very different attitudes to<br />

interruption, and so do different cultures. In Mediterranean<br />

societies interruption between close friends is <strong>of</strong>ten the<br />

norm, and it's not unusual to find situations where several<br />

people are speaking at once. This is also true <strong>of</strong> some<br />

Jewish families, where interruption is used as a way <strong>of</strong><br />

showing solidarity and enthusiasm. 6 To categorize these<br />

interruptions as battles for control <strong>of</strong> the floor is to misunderstand<br />

them - they're just a way <strong>of</strong> getting involved<br />

and voicing one's opinions.<br />

Turn-yielding <strong>Tells</strong><br />

So far we've looked at what happens when the listener<br />

wants to continue in his or her role, as well as the various<br />

strategies listeners can use in order to usurp the speaker's<br />

no

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