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USING THE MICRO-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE OF CONVERSATION ANALYSIS TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION IN SUPERVISION Of these conversations I have transcribed one complete session and many long extracts from the others (for the transcription conventions see the appendix) and examined them to answer the following questions: Which topics are being discussed, and how complex are they really? Which communicative tasks do supervisors and supervisees perform? How do the interactants construct their roles and ‘keep their faces’, particularly when in their everyday life they are professionals in similar fields? And are there specific conversational practices that promote self-reflection etc. on the part of the supervisee in the sense of the above-mentioned self-concept of supervision, or on the contrary: that lead to communicative hitches? Are the systematic conflicts or paradoxes outlined in chapter 1) visible on the surface of the conversation, and can they be explained by the above-mentioned circumstances? In this article I would like to take a closer look at one prominent conflict that emerges from the recordings that seems to be typical of one-on-one supervision and probably of counselling in general: How to allow the supervisee to take time to express herself, her problem(s), her feelings etc. while ensuring a workable basis for the unfolding process. TRANSCRIPT #1: PROBLEM DESCRIPTION, EMPATHY, AND UNDERSTANDING For a first insight the following excerpt shows a classic example of a demonstration of empathy and understanding by the supervisor (SR) while the supervisee (SE) is describing her problem. In this case SE is the new head of a daycare center and up to this moment has given information mostly on herself and her workplace situation. [1] 0 [11:48.3] 1 [11:49.9] SE [v] aber DAS ist nicht jetzt das problem.= =mein MEIN problem/ jetzt komm ich zu SE [vE] but this is not the problem now.= =my MY problem/ now I’m moving on to my problem, [2] 2 [11:51.7] 3 [11:52.4] 4 [11:57.0] SE [v] meinem problem, ja, ((ea)) ähmm + + + es ist so dass ähm/ (1.4) es gibt ne SE [vE] yeah, ((inhales)) um « « « the fact of the matter is that um/ (1.4) thereisa +215 +
