magazine issue 5 2012 / Issue 15

When conversations flow

• written by Namkje Koudenburg, Tom Postmes & Ernestine Gordijn
• edited by Rosanna Guadagno

Conclusion

The research described in this paper shows that people infer information from conversational flow that is not revealed by the content of the conversation. More specifically, people infer a sense of belonging and social validation from the fluency of their interactions with others. These inferences seem to be independent of what has actually been said. Because people are generally so well-trained in having smooth conversations, any disruption of this flow indicates that something is wrong, either interpersonally or within the group as a whole. Consequently, people who do not talk very easily may be incorrectly understood as being less agreeable than those who have no difficulty keeping up a conversation. On a societal level, one could even imagine that a lack of conversational flow may hamper the integration of immigrants who do not completely master the language of their new country yet. In a similar sense, the ever-increasing number of online conversations may be disrupted by misinterpretations and distress that are produced by insuperable delays in the Internet connection. Keeping in mind the effects of conversational flow for feelings of belonging and validation may help one to be prepared to avoid such misunderstandings in future conversations.

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