Speech patterns in mixed conversations of face-to-face and remote participants

In this study, speech patterns in negotiations were examined in order to search for possible effects of remoteness in conversations with one of three participants sitting remote. The recorded audio of 9 negotiations of 18-minute each for 27 participants was annotated for the number of turns and the total speech time for the three participants in every negotiation. The participants discussed three issues and ought to reach an agreement on all of them. Differences between remote and face-to-face participants regarding the number of turns and speech time were examined. To investigate the effect of group forming, the topic of the discussion was also taken into account. The three participants could share the same goal or head for a different goal. We tested differences in standing alone versus working together. Contrary to expectations the analysis of speech patterns showed no significant differences between the face-to-face and the remote participants. Whether participants stood alone or together on an issue had no effect on the speech patterns either. Only on the total speech time for remote participants a significant difference was found: more speech time was used when standing alone rather than together with a face-to-face participant. Overall, based on number of turns and speech times, speech patterns of remote participants are similar to those of face-to-face participants in mixed conversations.