Chapter 1 Chapter overview

The need for contact and companionship with others has been researched for centuries beginning in the Holy Roman Empire from 1220 to 1250. Early studies have isolated individuals to understand their need for others. Today, we understand the importance of interpersonal communication because of its impact on physical, psychological, and social well-being.

Generally, interpersonal communication is influenced by four human needs: physical needs, identity needs, social needs, and practical needs. These needs affect our health, help us understand who we are, develop relationships, and provide information about what we need to survive or be happy.

There are many factors that influence and affect human interaction and communication. The transactional communication model illustrates the important characteristics of communication interactions. These key characteristics show how sending and receiving are simultaneous, how meanings exist in and among people, how our environments and noise affect communication, as well as how the channels we choose to communicate with others make a difference in how our message is interpreted.

In addition to the key characteristics offered by the transactional communication model, there are other principles that guide our understanding of communication. Communication is transactional, one of the most important consequences of which is the degree of mutual influence that occurs when people interact. Secondly, communication can be intentional or unintentional and both can have communicative value. Third, communication has a content and a relational dimension. Finally, communication is both irreversible and unrepeatable.

Interpersonal communication can be defined as both quantitative and qualitative; however, a qualitative definition includes more interdependence, uniqueness, irreplaceability, intrinsic rewards, and disclosure that better define our most interpersonal relationships with others. Still, this only represents a small portion of our communication.

Common misconceptions about communication are important to recognize in order to be better communicators. Since interactions with others have different goals, remember that not all communication seeks understanding, more communication is not always better, communication will not solve all problems, and effective communication is not a natural ability.

Technological changes have given us new options for communicating personally. Email, text messaging, instant messaging, social networking, and blogging are all considered computer-mediated communication methods that are easy ways to keep connected with our family, friends, and acquaintances when we cannot be near them. Compared to face-to-face communication, mediated communication is leaner. It carries less information than other channels because of the lack of non-verbal cues. It is also asynchronous because there are gaps between the time a message is sent and the time that it is received. Finally, messages sent through mediated communication can be saved indefinitely.

Throughout this textbook, we will see that when people from different backgrounds interact, they face a set of challenges that are often different from what members of the same culture experience when they interact. Having different sets of values, beliefs, traditions, and language among cultures implies that intercultural communication is important for understanding differences in how others from different backgrounds communicate.

Canadians and Americans hold different values and beliefs in a number of areas. Research shows that Canadians are less likely to perceive violence as a normal part of everyday life, hold more positive attitudes towards immigration and sexual diversity, and hold more egalitarian views regarding the status of women. However, Canadian and American cultures are very similar in terms of individualism vs. collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance.

So, “what does it take to communicate better?” Although it is challenging to offer an exact definition of communication competence, most scholars agree that competent communication is both effective and appropriate. Important characteristics for balancing effectiveness and appropriateness for communication competence include motivation, open-mindedness, and mindfulness. There is no single ideal or effective way to communicate because our competence is situational. Most importantly, communication competence can be learned. Some common elements of competent communication include a large repertoire of skills, adaptability, the ability to perform skilfully, empathy and perspective taking, cognitive complexity, and self-monitoring.