Ep21: Sarah White, Conversation Analyst & Lecturer

Today my guest is Sarah White, a Conversation Analyst and Lecturer. In her research, Sarah studies the often-unspoken rules of language and how people, in conversations, use words, phrases, tone of voice and even pauses. Much of the focus of Sarah’s research is conversation analysis in healthcare, for example, interactions between surgeons and patients in a clinic. In our conversation, Sarah outlines how language used in interactions can be more (or less) effective and can be used – most importantly - to create meaning between participants. We explore the significance of a clinician swapping a single word – such as “some” or “any” - when asking a question of a patient, and the impact this has on the patient’s response. We also discuss the importance of conceiving conversation and communication as a core skill across a range of clinical and other settings. Links: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/sarah-white https://twitter.com/DrSarahJWhite