Contacts, communicating interpersonally

Contacts maintains an appropriate balance between the coverage of theory and the coverage of the practice of interpersonal communication skills. The theoretical and foundation material will provide the base of knowledge that today's students will need to develop their own personal and professional contacts. Contacts also offers applied skill material that gives students the opportunity to internalize strategies and master skills that will enable them to develop interpersonal competence and learn to interact effectively to attain goals when face to face with others.This new entry into the interpersonal communication market, Contacts: Communicating Interpersonally, is based on three premises of interpersonal communication.The first premise is that a text on interpersonal communication should explore the varied contexts of our lives. Our ability to interact skillfully with others will influence the development of both our personal and professional relationships. Through applied skills boxes (many set in the workplace), integrated coverage, and readings, Contacts lays a foundation to advance students' personal and professional well-being.The second premise is that the way that we communicate with others is affected, both subtly and overtly, by today's media and technological innovations. The media help shape our interactions, influence our expectations for daily contacts, and color our evaluations of the effectiveness of our interpersonal interactions. Technology brings a new wealth of information to our finger tips. Coverage of technology and media is integrated throughout the book as well as discussed in a special section in each chapter and will help students develop interpersonal communication skills for today's changing society.The third premise is that culture and gender influence interpersonal interactions. Contacts will give students the tools they need to communicate effectively both when they interact with individuals from their own culture and when they encounter individuals from diverse cultures. Cultural and gender issues and controversies are discussed in major sections in each chapter, integrated throughout the text discussions, and considered in many of the applied skills boxes and readings.