Turn-Taking

The process by which speakers in a conversation negotiate who speaks when, managing transitions between speakers through verbal and non-verbal cues. Turn-taking involves recognizing when a speaker is finishing, signaling desire to speak, and yielding the floor to others. In AAC communication, turn-taking is complicated by the time delay in composing messages, the asymmetry between AAC and non-AAC communication speeds, and the difficulty of producing timely turn-taking signals while attending to a device. Effective turn-taking support in AAC requires accommodating slower communication rates and providing mechanisms to signal intent to speak.