Human Communication Chapter 7 >> Part 1 Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal Communication between sender and receiver; one to another; more than 1 person involved. The essence of interpersonal communication is through conversations.

 

We can get a further perspective conversation by looking at Four principles: (1) turn-taking, (2) dialogue, (3) immediacy, and (4) flexibility.

First, Turn-Taking system is proposed to make sure that there is only one participant who speaks at a time with the minimal gaps and overlaps in each turn change. Turn-taking is considered to play an essential role in structuring people’s social interactions in terms of control and regulation of conversation. And here comes four turns : turn- maintaining, turn-yielding, turn-requesting and the last , turn-denying.

(1) Turn-maintaining cues express a desire to maintain control of the conversation. For instance, we might touch a listener's shoulder or breathe heavily while pausing between sentences to indicate that we are not through talking. (2) Turn-yielding cues relinquish control of the conversation. We might look at the listener more steadily or remain silent for a noticeable period to indicate that we are finished making a point. Turn-maintaining and turn-yielding may also be expressed explicitly. (3) Turn-requesting cues indicate a desire to speak. Nonverbal behaviors that express a desire to speak include direct eye contact, leaning forward, and vocalizations such as "I wondered that myself" or "I understand what you mean." (4) Turn-denying cues deny control of the conversation. For instance, a communication partner might decide to launch into a lengthy description of a recent event. People who wish to discuss something else might stare off into the distance or distance themselves from the communication partner.

Next, Dialogue is a context where two person share messages to one another.Dialogue is indicates an interaction rather than just a conversation - the sender and receiver both actively seek to pursue a healthy and meaningful conversation. 

Last, Immediacy and Flexibility are effective communication and conversation requires both (or all) parties to take into consideration the relationship and intimacy of one another, as well as adjusting to the environment and the context. For example, you host a party at your place - you will invite a lot of friends but some of them do not know one another . So certain topics and conversations would not be mentioned to the ones who are not so close to you. Hence, effective conversation is dependent on the intimateness of one another and the context in which it is in (for example, sharing a joke in a funeral is not a good idea!)