Talk Show Hosting Turn-Allocation Techniques in Jimmy Kimmel Live

Engaging in a conversation is a crucial ability possessed by people as social beings, in which turn-taking is the core element. However, conversation is a cooperative activity where there should be an orderly turn distribution via its allocation. When this comes into play, TV talk shows are a concrete example of turn allocation, in which the host and the guests participate in a conversation where turn distribution is practiced. This phenomenon can be observed in Jimmy Kimmel Live, a late-night talk show that highlights conversational activities to incorporate its entertainment bits. This study investigates turn-allocation techniques used by Jimmy Kimmel as the host of the talk show to manage a multiparty conversation with the Avengers: Endgame cast. The analysis is based on Sacks, Schegloff, and Jefferson’s theory concerning the systematics for turntaking organization along with Lerner’s elaboration on Sacks et al.’s turn allocation. To extract the data, Jeffersonian conventions are used, then the descriptive qualitative method is exercised to analyze the data in two levels: providing context and theoretical elaboration. It is found that the host only uses current-selects-next techniques (i.e., gaze, addressing, context-tied), in which context-tied becomes the most common technique practiced to create an exclusive connection that effectively allocates turn to the prospective speaker. Other techniques; gaze and addressing are also used by mutual gaze and address term positioning. Meanwhile, self-selection techniques (i.e., starting first and overlapping talk) are absent as a consequence of the unequal share of power and role of the host compared with the guests.