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Interpersonal Communication Essay

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Interpersonal communication is defined by Michael Cody as: the exchange of symbols used to achieve interpersonal goals(28). Does this definition include everything, or does it only include certain things?. When we are dealing with the issue of interpersonal communication we must realize that people view it differently. In this paper I will develop my own idea or definition of what interpersonal communication is. I will then proceed to identify any important assumptions or issues that become important in the definition that I choose. Finally, I will provide examples of communicative and non-communicative events based on my definition. Interpersonal communication, in my opinion, is the exchange of information verbal or …show more content…

The information has to be shared such as when a friend tells another friend about a problem that he or she is having or when a child talks to his or her parents about something personal. That information is being shared by two people in order to illicit a feedback. There are many important issues that become important when discussing my definition of interpersonal communication. One primary assumption is that communication must be carried on by people that are alive. Michael Cody uses an assumption like this when he is discussing his definition of interpersonal communication. Codys' assumption says that interpersonal communication occurs between people who are in a state of being. His state of being is different form mine in that I mainly imply that the person must be alive in order to establish interpersonal communication. In Cody' assumption his state of being is three pronged including, 1) people change, 2) people are searching for meaning for development and 3) it implies that communication can never be replicated (Cody 30). When Cody talks about "being " he is going into more detail than I would. As stated earlier my state of being means just being alive.

Another important issue that needs to be brought up when discussing my definition of interpersonal communication is the issue of the number of people.
When dealing with the issue of interpersonal communication the amount of people being communicated with is of utmost

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