Conversation Analytic Role-play Method

Marc Alexander (Heriot-Watt University)

In this seminar, I discuss how the Conversation Analytic Role-play Method (CARM) can be used in effective communication training. My research focuses on analysing ‘real-time’ interactions between a variety of organisations (e.g., housing helplines, the emergency services) and those who use them. I use the combined qualitative approaches of conversation analysis and discursive psychology to identify ‘what works’ interactionally and what is less effective in these communicative encounters. Findings from my research have been developed into CARM workshops, in which sequences of recorded interactions are revealed in ‘real-time’ directly to public-facing professionals, leading to improvements in service-user experience and social impact.

In-person: Mary Burton 147, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh; Online: click ‘Join via MS Teams’.