Interpersonal Communication Notes

This module will cover:

What interpersonal communication is and why people do it.
The nature of interpersonal communication.
The elements and characteristics of interpersonal communication.
The principles of interpersonal communication.
Technology and the changing nature of interpersonal communication and relationships.

Be on time.
Be respectful, courteous, and curious.
If you have a question, ask it!
8/10 session attendance.
ME (Midterm Exam) is based solely on completion of Asyncs (Asynchronous assignments).

Describe a recent interaction where nonverbal cues (e.g., tone, gestures) influenced how you felt.
Do you experience media presence more in video calls than text? How does this shape your connection?
Have you noticed shifts in nonverbal decoding since using social media or messaging apps?
When are richer media (video, face-to-face) worth the effort—e.g., for conflict, support, ambiguous topics?
How can we intentionally combine media richness and social presence to maintain intimacy in digital relationships?

Definition: Interpersonal communication is the dynamic, reciprocal process of exchanging verbal and nonverbal messages between (or among) people who establish and maintain a relationship (DeVito, 2022). It is personal, transactional, and essential for human social functioning (DeVito, 2022; Wrench et al., 2022).

Social connection: Fulfills psychological needs such as inclusion, affection, and control (DeVito, 2022).
Self-concept: Helps individuals shape and express identity.
Relationship building: Enables creation, maintenance, and repair of bonds.
Problem resolution: Through collaborative meaning-making, we navigate conflicts and make decisions (DeVito, 2022).

Transaction Model: Communication is a shared, co-constructed process—senders and receivers influence and respond to one another simultaneously (DeVito, 2022).
Essential Qualities:
- Inevitable: Even silence sends meaning.
- Irreversible: Once communicated, it cannot be taken back.
- Unrepeatable: Context, time, and participants create unique interactions (DeVito, 2022).
- Contextual: Influenced by physical, cultural, psychological, and relational environments (DeVito, 2022; Wrench et al., 2022).

Core Elements:
- Sender–Receiver: Both parties exchange messages.
- Message: Includes verbal and nonverbal aspects.
- Channel: Mode of transmission (face-to-face, digital).
- Noise: Disruptive physical, psychological, or semantic factors.
- Feedback: Response indicating interpretation.
- Context: Surrounding conditions impacting meaning.
- Ethics: Communicators make value-based choices (DeVito, 2022; Wrench et al., 2022).

Nonverbal cues such as eye contact, facial expressions, posture, and tone convey much of the affective message (Wang, 2009; Samovar et al., cited in Wang, 2009).
Albert Mehrabian (1971) proposed that when verbal and nonverbal cues conflict, people trust nonverbal cues (facial + tone = 93%) over words (7%)—though this applies specifically to communicating feelings and attitudes (Mehrabian, 1971).
Facial + Tone = 93\%
Words = 7\%

DeVito (2022) identifies several guiding principles:

Process: Communication unfolds over time.
Ethical dimension: Choices affect others.
Constructed meaning: Meaning is negotiated, not fixed.
Cultural influence: Culture shapes encoding/decoding.
Intentionality: Messages can be deliberate or accidental.
Rule-guided: Governing norms or “unwritten rules.”
Relationship-creating: Conversation both defines and reflects relationship status (DeVito, 2022).

Complementary aspects include openness, empathy, and supportiveness—key soft skills for meaningful interaction, especially in educational settings (Triwardhani et al., 2024; DeVito, 2019).
Studies in teaching contexts reveal these principles improve trust and engagement, even in mediated contexts (e.g., WhatsApp parent–teacher communication).

In our increasingly digital world, technology's influence on interpersonal communication is complex:

Media richness theory suggests that media vary in their capacity to transmit rich cues; richer media (face-to-face, video) facilitate better understanding of ambiguous messages than lean media (email, text) (Daft & Lengel, 1986)
Social presence theory emphasizes the "sense of being with another" in mediated communication: richer media evoke greater presence and closeness, while leaner forms reduce social connection (Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976; Biocca et al., 2003)

Ruben et al. (2021) found that active technology users (e.g. posting) overestimate their nonverbal decoding skills, yet perform worse in objective tests.
Conversely, passive users (e.g. observing) perform better objectively.
This underscores how displacement from rich, face-to-face cues can impair interpersonal sensitivity.