Why We Should Watch What We Say

Abstract

This paper develops the use of the concept of positioning as a way of thinking about and analysing the production of relational subjectivity. It discusses some practical implications for both the analysis and production of human subjectivity and relationship in conversation that arise from taking a thorough-going social constructionist stance. Examples from everyday speech are used to discuss the importance of enabling the taking up of agentive positions in the narratives of our own lives, and how these opportunities may be offered through different ‘position calls’. It is suggested that this conceptual tool is useful not only for understanding everyday conversations, but also for understanding personal experiences of exclusions from social interactions. Such considerations arise from a specific focus on therapy, but it is argued that if we are interested in enhancing possibilities for egalitarian relationships and multi-voiced dialogical interaction, it is important to notice the impact of speech action, whether in therapy, in everyday conversation, or in the practices of academic psychology.