Conversation Closing Dynamics in Thai News Interviews: Strategies and Challenges
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Abstract
Conversation closing is essential in determining the outcome and conclusion of an interaction. In news interview programs, such closings differ from those in institutional or organizational settings due to the structured and preplanned nature of the interviews. Closing a conversation, particularly in conflict situations, presents a challenging task for interviewers. This article presents the results of a study on conversation closing in Thai news interview programs. Data were collected from 25 episodes of five Thai news interview programs via a digital TV channel. The verbal data obtained were transcribed into written form. To analyze the data, the researcher utilized conversational analysis along with the conversation closing framework. The findings reveal that the conversation closing process consists of two main parts: pre-closing and closing. Interviewers employed three strategies for pre-closing: 1) providing time notifications, 2) asking interviewees to provide a short summary, and 3) posing a final question to signal that the conversation was coming to an end. For the closing part, interviewers used five strategies: summarization, thanking the interviewees, reiterating the time, reiterating the program title, and saying goodbye. The process of closing conversations proved to be complicated, as interviewees often expressed a desire to continue talking. Thus, determining when to end the conversation presented a challenge for interviewers in efficiently concluding conversations.
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