Interpersonal Communication : Building Connections Together

Become a better communicator and keep the conversation going! Written in a conversational style for students living in today's world of ever-evolving media and new technology, this hands-on skills text puts students at the center of interpersonal communication. To help them become better, more successful communicators, married author team Teri Kwal Gamble and Michael Gamble shed new light on the dynamics of students' everyday interactions and relationships, and give students the tools they need to develop and cultivate effective communication skills. Using an applied, case-study approach that draws from popular culture and students' own experiences, Gamble and Gamble go beyond skill building by encouraging readers to critically reflect on their own communication patterns and actively apply relevant theory to develop and maintain healthy relationships with family, friends, romantic partners, and co-workers. Designed to promote self-reflection and develop students' interpersonal communication skills, the book appeals to their interests in and fascination with popular culture, media, and technology, engaging them by facilitating their personal observation, processing, and analysis of how they connect interpersonally in the real world and as depicted in popular culture, the media, and online. With this strong emphasis on concepts and examples relevant to students' daily lives, each chapter of this engaging text examines how media, technology, gender, and culture affect the dynamics of relationships and self-expression. Interpersonal Communication is divided into four main parts (Foundations, Messages, Dynamics, and Relationships in Context) and explores an array of communication settings—including family, workplace, and health. Pedagogical features, including chapter-opening self-assessments, pop culture examples, narratives, and discussion questions, focus on how students connect with others and how they can do it better. So help your students become better communicators with this fresh and thought-provoking introduction to interpersonal communication!