Analysis of another person’s communication in interaction
...hen behind him there’s his wife, just topping up her G and T, (Mimes filling a glass) with that look on her face as if to say, If I have to hear this story, one more time. (mimes skulling a drink) 28. A- (laughter that continues through section 29.) 29. J- (looks into the air then mimes stabbing himself in the chest and hanging himself) 30. A- (laughter) 31. J- But ah, worse than that to you is the partner who takes the story off you, stuffs it up and then hands it back to you again. 32. A- (laughter) 33. J- No, no, no, that’s not what happened (points into audience) you were over there I saw the whole thing; But anyway, go on. (Motions as if to pass something to the audience with both hands while smiling broadly) 34. A- (laughter) 35. J- No you’ve ruined it now. 36. A- (chuckles) 37. J- Men will work conversation around to their subject matter, just ‘cause they’ve got a, a good story about that subject matter. They’ll say something like ah, hey Jimmy did you ever be, did you ever go snow boarding? And you’ll go no. And they go (points to audience) funny you should mention that. 38. A- (laughter) 39. J- And then they’re off, ah. Men do that, girls don’t do that, just whenever they think of a story they just go oh, (starts waving his finger and using a higher pitched voice) me, me, me, me, me, no, no, me, me, me. 40. A- (laughter) 41. J- I watch men work the story around to their subject matter, and ah, I can see what they’re up to and I ruin it for them, ‘cause I just don’t take the bait. 42. A- (chuckle) 43. J- They’ll say something like ah, hey Jimmy did you ever go snowboarding? I’ll go no but I’ve been scuba diving have you tried that. And they’re looking at you going, (stares wide eyed and shakes his head) No, no, I wanna talk about snowboarding. 44. A- (laughter) 45. J- But very often you can be telling a story and it’s not until you’re half way through it that it suddenly dawns on you that you haven’t told this story before. And your not a hundred percent sure how it goes. 46. A- (laughter) 47. J- You’re not a hundred percent sure of the ending. 48. A- (chuckles) 49. J- And that’s when people start listening. 50. A- (laughter) 51. J- ‘cause they can see you’re in trouble and they’re spiteful. 52. A- (laughter) 53. J- And they’re calling people in off the street (makes beckoning guesture to the side) come here to hear this. 54. A- (laughter) 55. J- But yes I’ve ah, I’ve ah, just bought a DVD ah, player. ‘cause ah, I’ve got a DVD out. 56. A- (laughter and groans) 57. J- And I thought, I should probably be able to play this. But ah, I’m not a big fan of the manual that comes along with the DVD, a very boring book to be honest. Ah, do this do that... You do it! 58. A- (laughter) 59. J- But I do like reading I, I enjoy reading and ah, I enjoy a thriller, and I thought what they should do is they should write ah, a thriller, and lace the instructions of how to programme the DVD through the thriller. Then that way you get to read a book and get to programme the DVD at the same time. 60. A- (chuckles) 61. J- It would say things like ah; (using a more dramatic intonation) As they entered the, the front room on the wall was a painting and It, brought back memories of a war he was trying to forget. He switched on the TV (using a more clinical intonation and motioning as if to plug in a cord) and connected the black cable. 62. A- (laughter) 63. J- Well that’s all from me, thank you very much, goodnight, thank you. 64. A- (laughter, applause and cheering) (Mac Manus, 2003) Field: In the provided example of text we see an interaction that has taken place to provide entertainment for a television audience. The comedian’s presentation is examples of information transference or “stories”, and the different roles that people play in the communication process. The short-term goal of the text is to generate laughter and entertain a television audience. As the comedian refers to his recent release of a DVD (refer to section 55.), it may be assumed that, a long-term goal of the presentation was to gain public attention, as a promotional tool, for the new DVD. Tenor: The text shows an interaction between an entertainer (individual), specifically a comedian, and an audience (group). The agentive, or societal roles, of the interactants create a need for the comedian (speaker) and audience (listeners) to be physically separated if the text is be communicated effectively. The comedian holds greater status than the audience, as it is him who is responsible for the entire delivery of the text, and therefore the comedian is providing all the information during the course of the interaction. The comedian however, does not refer to the audience in a superior manner. Although unlikely to be familiar with the members of his audience, the comedian creates no social distance. Part of the success of the text can probably be attributed to the fact that the comedian relates to the audience informally, as if he were one of them, as if at this point in time it is his turn to speak. This is also the opening theme in his dialogue (refer to sections 1-21) and helps to consolidate a feeling that the comedian and audience are equally important elements of the interaction. The comedian is probably aware that the success of his presentation relies on the audiences desire to respond with laughter, and so is trying to make the audience feel as relaxed as they would feel if interacting with a close friend. Mode: The text is spoken by the comedian and is designed to create humour for an audience. The language is constitutive. Although audience response is necessary, if the text is to be considered successfully delivered, the text is a monologue. The monologue is probably a series of events that have happened but have since been written down and embellished upon to create a more h...