Structural Dynamics and Turn-Taking Strategies in Real Estate Sales Conversations: Insights from Business Communication in China

Abstract

Analysing conversational strategies in real estate sales are essential for client engagement, negotiation outcomes, and business communication effectiveness. Therefore, the study utilizes analysis of conversation to investigate business communication among 18 real estate sales agents and their clients in China, concentrating on both the overall and local shapes of these interconnections. The results indicate that these interconnections commonly follow a shape continuing of three phases, which are split into seven sequences and seventeen sections. The three phases are the Opening, Body, and Closing phases. The Opening phase involves the sequence of Greeting and Identification and Inquiry Initiation; the Body phase encompasses the sequences of Information Exchange and Financial Negotiations; and the Closing phase contains the sequence of Topic Boundary, Pre-closing, and Conversation Ending. When every sequence returns the essential role of its segments, not every section appears in each communication. Even within necessary sequences, certain segments are omitted due to various reasons. The result demonstrates responding turns, offering services, and answering questions, dominating, showing agents’ control of conversation flow. The selectional shapes reveal that sales agents employ various ideas when initiating and reacting to communicational turns. Also, utilize five ideas to complex turns: greetings, furnishing services, soliciting information, making requests, and extending invitations. In reacting to turns, investigation employs four ideas: expressing sentiments, answering questions, furnishing feedback, and verifying details. Theoretically, this research contributes to a good comprehension of how real estate communication and the ideas employed. It contributes practical tips to enhance client participation and conversation in sales.