The Academic Presentation: Situated Talk in Action

Book excerpt: How is the task of giving a presentation accomplished? In this insightful book Johanna Rendle-Short unpacks this seemingly simple task to show the complexity that underlies it. Examining the academic presentation as a case in point, she details how seminar presenters interact with the audience and objects around them to produce a coherent whole. Through detailed examination of talk-in-interaction the book throws light on one instance of talk as situated practice, demonstrating both the ordinariness of the academic presentation, and its intricate complexity. While audience members recognize that a seminar is underway, this book shows how this recognition comes about. The Academic Presentation will greatly interest scholars of talk and interaction analysis, situated talk, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis.