---
key: mechanic/dialogue--family-interruption
type: mechanic
id: dialogue--family-interruption
lang: en
title: Interruptions and taking turns
summary: >-
  Participants take turns, interrupt or yield the floor; rules determine who can
  speak and when.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/dialogue--family-interruption/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/dialogue--family-interruption.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/dialogue--family-interruption.md
aliases: []
tags:
  - Dialogue
  - Game rules
sourceIds:
  - source-3992177cb9c36d87
sources:
  - id: source-3992177cb9c36d87
    title: Duolingo
    url: 'https://blog.duolingo.com/product-highlights/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: dialogue
    id: family-interruption
    title: Dialogue
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/dialogue/#family-interruption'
    categoryIds:
      - section-2
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Interruptions and taking turns
    description: >-
      Participants take turns, interrupt or yield the floor; rules determine who
      can speak and when.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/duolingo-video-call.webp
      width: 1400
      height: 800
      crop:
        x: 525
        'y': 50
        width: 735
        height: 700
      game: Duolingo
      sourceUrl: 'https://blog.duolingo.com/product-highlights/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://storage.ghost.io/c/7a/33/7a33d0f4-927d-4fe8-a6bf-96131b5e76d4/content/images/2025/12/EN-DuolingoProductYIR-Video-Call-1.png
      credit: 'Duolingo, Inc.; official screenshot comparison of Video Call with Lily'
      rights: >-
        Screenshots © their respective rights holders. Provided in the official
        guide or product article; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC
        BY 4.0.
      caption: A button controls the reply to Lily
      alt: A button controls the reply to Lily
      markers:
        - x: 77
          'y': 84
          label: Push-to-talk lets the speaker finish their turn
    tips:
      - Clearly indicate when the system listens and when it begins replying.
    examples:
      - title: Duolingo
        url: 'https://blog.duolingo.com/product-highlights/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on
  2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are
  preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire
  classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and
  editorial review.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/dialogue
---
# Interruptions and taking turns

id: dialogue--family-interruption
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/dialogue--family-interruption
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/dialogue--family-interruption/

Participants take turns, interrupt or yield the floor; rules determine who can speak and when.

## At a glance

![A button controls the reply to Lily](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/duolingo-video-call.webp)

[Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/product-highlights/) · Screenshots © their respective rights holders. Provided in the official guide or product article; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. Push-to-talk lets the speaker finish their turn

- Clearly indicate when the system listens and when it begins replying.

- [Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/product-highlights/)

## How it works

The timing of the intervention and the distribution of the turn determine who continues to speak and how the conversation changes.

## Variants

### Variants and applications

<a id="family-interruption-variants"></a>

- Interrupting a dialogue line. Rule: The player breaks off the current phrase; NPC takes into account the moment and content of the intervention. <a id="variant-interruption-01"></a>
- Let me finish. Rule: The player consciously waits for the end of the remark and receives its full meaning or another reaction. <a id="variant-interruption-02"></a>
- Taking the initiative. Rule: Successful intervention transfers the right to ask questions or determine the topic to the player. <a id="variant-interruption-03"></a>
- Holding the word. Rule: You need to protect your own remarks from attempts to interrupt or change the subject. <a id="variant-interruption-04"></a>
- Recovery after interruption. Rule: The system or player returns the discussion to an unfinished thought. <a id="variant-interruption-05"></a>
- Overlapping speech. Rule: Simultaneous remarks make it difficult to understand and can hide important information. <a id="variant-interruption-06"></a>
- Third party intervention. Rule: Another character interrupts the exchange, defends the participant, or introduces new information. <a id="variant-interruption-07"></a>
- Reaction to interruption of queue. Rule: Frequency and appropriateness of interventions changes attitude and access to further conversation. <a id="variant-interruption-08"></a>

## Context and limits

Author's working taxonomy compiled for this request. Titles are descriptive; sources confirm individual principles and examples, and not the entire list.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Original editorial design catalog consolidated from project discussions on 2026-10-20. Complete discussion item lists and contextual limitations are preserved; linked primary sources support specific techniques, not the entire classification. English translation was prepared with machine assistance and editorial review.

- [Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/product-highlights/) (id: source-3992177cb9c36d87)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors