Getting the Floor

Getting the floor is a major concern for students in seminars. Some students feel they can’t get a word into the conversation; others ask, why don’t people comment on what I say? Getting the floor in seminar is not only making a comment or asking a question; it is introducing a topic or a perspective that everyone attends to. Some students speak when they have a point to make and others find it difficult to get a word in. Unlike discussions where the faculty member nominates each speaker, seminars are often free-flowing so students need to find ways to introduce their ideas into that flow. Even if students raise their hands, they may not be able to contribute their ideas at an appropriate moment because of the comments of intervening speakers. And, if the topic changes, many feel they can no longer contribute their idea. In (1) a student summarized her approach to getting the floor as follows:

(1) I know I have problems interrupting people or problems in seminars about when to talk and when not to talk and I usually end up saying nothing because I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes or interrupt people. So I just kind of sit there and unless there’s a huge void of silence then I tend to just not say much of anything or I can’t find the right time to present what my ideas are so [. . .]

In her statement the student makes two points that are central to understanding why getting the floor can be difficult. She says she cannot find the “right time” to present her ideas and that she does not want to interrupt. The “right time” for her is the void of silence. This metaphor suggests that she finds herself together with others in a big empty structureless space when they are not talking. At that point she feels more comfortable speaking. The second point this student makes of not wanting to interrupt can mean several things such as having a highconsiderateness conversational style, not yet having a voice, being shy or

introverted, rehearsing what she wants to say instead of listening, and/or being unprepared. As we have seen in Chapter 4, having a high-considerateness conversational style means that speakers expect a brief pause between turns of talk and if speakers are overlapping or not allowing others to contribute by controlling the topics, then style can be a factor.