Timing in turn-taking and its implications for processing models of language

Gaps between turns are about 200 ms; planning a sentence takes over 600 ms. So listeners start answering before you finish.

Levinson, S. C. & Torreira, F. (2015). Timing in turn-taking and its implications for processing models of language. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 731.

Type

Journal article

Find it

doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00731

Checked

Against the abstract, 15 September 2026

Why it is on the list

This review sets the numbers week 4 uses. The ordinary gap between turns is of the order of 200 ms, and producing an utterance takes longer than that, over 600 ms. Listeners must therefore predict where a turn will end and prepare their reply in advance. Anyone who waits for the end of the sentence before starting to think is, by the protocol’s clock, late.