‘As you said to me I said to them’: Reported speech and the multi-vocal nature of collaborative design practice

This paper focuses on design and reported speech (talk where a speaker quotes another), to outline how a user of a building employs reported speech to represent the comments of other users to an architect. By analyzing talk from a design meeting, the complex role of the ‘user/designer representative’ is delineated and the uses of reported talk to provide evidence, deflect decision-making, and deliver assessments are described. Also considered is how ‘face’ (positive personal/social regard) is managed in relation to reported speech. This paper offers a close analysis of design-based interaction and a reflection on the importance of hearing users – both who are present and who are absent but spoken for – in situated contexts of design practice.

► Describes the complex, pivotal role of the user/designer representative. ► Indicates significance of reported speech for communicating information about users. ► Reveals design as a multi-vocal activity that includes non-present participants. ► Shows how the management of ‘face’ in interaction may impact assessments of design. ► Delineates the complex social nature of design through analyzing interactions.