Denise Solomon - Interpersonal Communication: Putting Theory into Practice

Some of us may believe that interpersonal communication is a matter of common sense or that skillful communication is an innate ability that you either have or you don't. In this textbook, Denise Solomon and Jennifer Theiss demonstrate that interpersonal communication skills are not just common sense; nor are they mysterious qualities that defy learning. Interpersonal Communication: Putting Theory into Practice draws on theory and research in the interpersonal communication discipline to help you identify strategies to improve your communication skills. Denise and Jen introduce interpersonal communication as a subject of scientific research that has enormous relevance to your daily lives. You will learn to use what researchers have discovered about interpersonal communication to improve your own ability to communicate well. You will also read about contemporary research in interpersonal communication, a foundation for establishing skill-building tips.

In making research accessible, Denise and Jen show that communication scholars tackle important questions that have real-life relevance, and they dispel myths about interpersonal communication. A touchstone throughout this textbook is a commitment to topics and applications that can help you in many different situations and throughout your life. When you have finished reading this textbook, you will be better prepared to communicate effectively in all areas of your world, with skills and understanding that you can use to improve your interactions with the people around you.

Denise Solomon is Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park.

Jennifer Theiss is Associate Professor of Communication at Rutgers University.

Putting Theory into Practice

Denise Solomon and Jennifer Theiss

Please visit the companion website at www.routledge.com/cw/solomon

First published 2013

by Routledge

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Simultaneously published in the UK

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2013 Taylor & Francis

The right of Denise Solomon and Jennifer Theiss to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Solomon, Denise.

Interpersonal communication : putting theory into practice / Denise Solomon and Jennifer Theiss.

p. cm.

1. Interpersonal communication. I. Theiss, Jennifer. II. Title.

P94.7.S65 2013

302.2dc23

2012016255

ISBN 13: 9780415807517 (hbk)

ISBN 13: 9780415807524 (pbk)

ISBN 13: 9780203147832 (ebk)

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Denise dedicates this book to Melinda, Sara, Carrie, and Ann. Jen dedicates this book to Sarah, Carla, Heather, and Claire. Our best friends, whose loyalty, friendship, and love have been the model for good interpersonal communication in our lives.

Students attend college for a variety of reasons: to broaden their minds, to learn a vocation, or to become independent adults. But all students need to master interpersonal communication skills. Everyone, regardless of her or his personal and career goals, benefits from an ability to promote a friendship, to resolve a conflict, to comfort someone in need, and to answer questions clearly. Throughout the course of our lives, the experiences that bring us joy, that define who we are, and that connect us to others are grounded in interpersonal communication.

As active communication researchers, we hope that the studies we conduct will someday offer tangible solutions to complex human problems. As teachers, our greatest professional joys have come from seeing students improve their communication skills in ways that changed their lives. Denise remembers a student who started the semester paralyzed by the thought of interpersonal conflict and who, over the course of the semester, became confident enough to express herself during disagreements. That student wrote a couple of years later to say that she had become the go-to person in her workplace whenever someone had an interpersonal communication problem. Jen has seen how learning strategies for listening and self-disclosure helped a shy and lonely first-year student emerge as a confident campus leader. Like all teachers of interpersonal communication, we have countless stories like these. Because of the impact of interpersonal communication on students lives, we are inspired to promote the teaching of interpersonal communication.

This book introduces students to interpersonal communication as a subject that has enormous relevance to their daily lives. We provide concrete strategies for building communication skills that are firmly grounded in contemporary communication research. We also show that effective interpersonal communication is based on strategies and skills that everybody can learn to do better. Our touchstone throughout is a commitment to topics and applications that can help students in many different situations and throughout their lives.