Thread by @KieranFile

Project update: How do #F1 teams distribute information under pressure? How do they create conditions for successful information flow during #F1 races? We analysed radio #communication strategies used by the @WilliamsRacing team during high-pressure qualifying & racing events 🧵

We were able to locate (and label) a range of communicative strategies members of the team deployed to support the rapid, efficient and effective distribution of key information across members of the team. Here are six of those strategies VERY BRIEFLY summarised.

Verbal handshaking 🤝 team members would ensure each other’s readiness for conversations by engaging in important conversation initiation rituals (referred to as handshaking). This purpose-built ritual was essential for setting up favourable conditions for information exchange.

Framing (or thematising) 🖼️ team members would frequently utter phrases at the beginning of message exchanges (like “just for info” or “regarding tyre life”) to help the receiver quickly contextualise the incoming message or to work out its significance to the unfolding race.

Strategic eavesdropping 👂 team members would frequently eavesdrop on (i.e., actively listen to) radio channels that they were not necessarily responsible for monitoring, in order to proactively locate situations where they could help others deal with issues that they were facing

Repeating 🔂 team members regularly drew on repetition to, amongst other things, ensure clarity (by giving listeners multiple opportunities to hear messages) or to emphasise the key parts of messages (by repeating them).

Streamlining 📏 team members frequently streamlined messages by omitting words that were unessential for conveying the core meaning of messages or that were easily retrievable from the context. This ensured efficient packaging and distribution of information on the radio.

Backgrounding 🔙 team members would background or leave unsaid/unstated some of the information, significance, relevance or intentions of a message when they assumed these details could be easily retrieved by the addressee (and/or to not pass them onto other teams).

Booklet now delivered to the @WilliamsRacing team. Twitter is probably not the best place to summarise and illustrate these strategies. However, hopefully those who have been following along with this project get the gist. Reach out if you have questions or want to know more.

Onto the next phase of the project now where we will continue to find out how communication works in high-performance #F1 teams! Many thanks to @WilliamsRacing for allowing me to apply a linguistic lens to this fascinating data!

#applyinglinguistics #linguistics #sport #highperformancesport
@sportylinguists @WarwickAppLing @warwickuni