Participation in the medical consultation: the co‐ordination of verbal and nonverbal behaviour between the doctor and patient

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Abstract
The following paper is concerned with the coordination of verbal and nonverbal behaviour by the doctor and patient in the medical consultation. It explores the relationship between the talk of the patient and the nonverbal behaviour of the doctor and demonstrates how the gaze direction of the doctor plays a crucial part in the articulation of an utterance by the patient. In examining a series of examples drawn from primary health care consultations, the analysis reveals how patients, or more generally speakers, use gestural activity to realign the gaze of their recipient(s) and encourage their participation in talk. In this fashion the paper addresses the problem of how the participants maintain a state of mutual involvement and sustain their integration within social interaction.

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