Nonverbal cues to conversational turn taking between black speakers

The striking thing about the richly varied area referred to as nonverbal communication is that, as compared to language, it has been virtually neglected by systematic research until very recently. However, even where research studies have surfaced in this area, there remains a profound neglect of the importance of cultural factors. Deviations from cultural norms in overlearned areas like interpersonal distancing, timing and looking can create unanticipated, unrecognized and inexcapable sources of cross cultural communication difficul-ties and ill feelings. It is not simply a matter of a member of one culture &dquo;looking too much&dquo; or &dquo;too little&dquo; at someone of another culture, but more likely a matter of a conflict between two highly complex, totally overlearned and usually out-Gf-awareness patterns of behavior. Accordingly this paper reports part of a larger project in which broad patterns of nonverbal behaviors in black conversants were dtudied. Kendon (1967) was perhaps one of the first investigators to establish empirically that the apparently simple procedure of taking turns in conversation is managed by a fine and subtle coordination of nonverbal behaviors. Using a natural history method and focusing on gaze direction in particular, Kendon (1967) found that where a person is looking ma