Look who's talking: Using transactional analysis in the writing of effective screenplay dialogue

Transactional Analysis (TA) is a theory of personality devised by Eric Berne, a Canadian psychiatrist, in the early 1960s. Berne was particularly keen to emphasise the accessibility of his model, and for this reason he chose everyday language to describe his concepts. In particular, he ascribed specific meanings to the words 'Parent', 'Adult' and 'Child', and we suggest that these provide readily accessible ways in which screenwriters can understand the power that language possesses, and the ways in which dialogic subtext may be designed for optimum effect. It is the intention of this chapter to connect TA with screenwriting practice to understand and put into use the effective writing of screenplay dialogue. We first provide an overview of the fundamental points of TA theory before then examining examples of how dialogue between characters can be used to build the compelling and credible characterisation that is the hallmark of all good and engaging screenwriting. In doing this we provide further understandings of how TA can be understood in the context of a new discipline, and also provide applied approaches that are of use to screenwriting practitioners specifically, and screen, media and language scholars more broadly.