Cooperation and Flexibility in Multimodal Communication

The design of cooperative dialog systems, new human-computer interfaces (cf. Schomacher et al 1995) and avatars in various types of virtual environments can all be improved by better knowledge of features of real human-human multimodal communication. In this paper I discuss the nature of cooperation in dialog. I will also discuss what might be called features of flexibility and conflict prevention and how they are related to cooperation. I will illustrate the features of flexibility and conflict prevention by examples drawing on videorecorded and transcribed human-human dialog. The main focus will be on nonverbal gestural means, since verbal means are somewhat better known. The paper is intended to illustrate how new ideas about the design of dialog systems (cf Pandzic et al 1996, 1997) will also lead to an interest in aspects of human-human communication that have received less attention so far.