Multimodal Analysis of Nonverbal Interactions Between Doctor-Patients and Teacher-Students

Multimodality research and practitioner talk

Speaker: Danyal Farsani, University of Chile

In this talk, I will reflect both as a researcher and as a practitioner in the field of nonverbal communication about how interlocutors draw upon, utilise, and interpret gestures, micro-expressions, space and their shoulder orientation in interaction. Data examined involve interactions between medical doctors with their patients in private and public hospitals, and classroom teachers with their students, in three countries (Iran, UK and Chile), each with its own language and social norms in interaction.

Furthermore, this presentation will address and shed light onto the question as to what methodological approaches can be used to automatically and objectively measure nonverbal meaning making practices. The methodological approaches that could answer this question are still at their early stages. I will show the ways in which each of these modes of communication (particularly gestures) can be automatically and objectively measured in multimodal and nonverbal interactions.

Dr Danyal Farsani is a post-doctorate researcher at the Universidad de Chile. Dr Farsani received a BSc in mathematics from Coventry University and a PhD at the University of Birmingham. He is particularly interested in analyzing Verbal-Vocal-Visual aspects of language. Furthermore, he is currently investigating nonverbal and visual communications between interlocutors in different social contexts, such as in medical contexts, educational institutional settings and police interview settings in Iran, UK and Chile. His research explores meaning-making practices conveyed through gestures that may not be expressed in words. In addition to his research, he lectures on the notion of body language and provides training to lawyers, TV presenters, congress members and the intelligence police. He has been awarded with a FONDECYT research project.