Walking away: The embodied achievement of activity closings in mobile interaction

In this paper we describe in detail the coordinated practices of walking away as reflexively contributing to the organization of activity closings. The paper contributes to conversation analytic studies interested in multimodality, space and mobility, by showing the relevance of walking for the systematic and situated organization of talk-in-interaction. More particularly, the paper deals with sequential environments in which activity closings are projected, and achieved by the participants; it shows that in this position, initiating walking away is a resource that makes closing publicly projectable and recognizable. Moreover, the study shows how walking away is a negotiated matter, being initiated by some, aligned or disaligned by others, possibly retracted and revised. Finally, the study demonstrates that walking away as a coordinated and negotiated practice raises normative expectations among the participants: a deviant case is discussed in which participants orient to the absence of such a coordination. In sum, the paper offers a detailed analysis of a particular multimodal practice – walking – as a conduct systematically coordinated with talk-in-interaction.

► The paper shows how a wide array of multimodal resources are mobilized in an orderly way for the organization of social interaction.
► Analyses focus on walking away as a resource for achieving closings.
► Analyses are based on video recordings of guided tours in French, Swedish and English.
► A series of systematic positions and sequential patterns are described, highlighting the finely tuned mutual embodied adjustments of the participants.
► The paper demonstrates a close link between the sequential structure of talk and the mobility of participants.