To begin, provide an informed consent form to the participants explaining the study without revealing its focus on gesture production. Ensure the participants sign the form and answer any questions they have. Collect the signed form.
For pair participants, use a coin toss to assign roles. One as the speaker and the other is the interlocutor. For individual participants with a research assistant, used a rigged coin toss to assign the participant as the speaker and the research assistant as the interlocutor.
In half of the sessions, place an opaque divider between the speaker and interlocutor to ensure they cannot see one another's face or hands. Explain the experimental task to participants answering any questions. Inform them about audio recording, showing the microphone, but do not disclose video recording and ensure that the video camera is not visible to the participants.
Start audio and video recording, and implement the experimental task to elicit speech and gesture. If using a within participants design, remove the opaque divider according to the session iteration. Repeat the experimental task until all stimuli are covered.
Stop audio and video recording. Inform participants about the study's focus on gestures and that they were video recorded. Answer any final questions from participants and thank them before dismissal.
