Visualizing Conversational Coherence

Conversations are such a part of our everyday existance that, except for linguists, we seldom think about their subtle and complex choreography. At close examination, even the most mundane exchange resembles an intricate dance, improvised within the constraints of of numerous complex rules. One feature of this choreography is conversational cohesion how the participants maintain a common topic. During a conversation, people introduce and sustain different topics. Strong conversational cohesion is a sign of cooperation, showing that the members of the group share similar interests and are motivated to sustain a common discussion, rather than each person attempting to redirect the topic. The success of a new topic depends not only on its inherent interest but also on its proponent: topics introduced by higher status participants are more likely to catch on (Bonvillain, 106) .