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What Is Interpersonal Communication?

Interpersonal communication impacts our relationships

When I first took a class on interpersonal communication as an undergraduate, I was amazed at the practical importance of the information we were learning. We talked about how and why people communicate when they are falling in (and out of) love, fighting, forming friendships, and fostering healthy family and workplace relationships. I’d go home after every class and drive my roommates crazy by using material from class to analyze their relationships!

Of course, I’m not the first person to recognize the significance of interpersonal communication; such realization has existed since the dawn of recorded history. In fact, one of the earliest texts ever written—the maxims of the Egyptian sage Ptah Hotep (2200 B.C.E.)—was essentially a guidebook for enhancing interpersonal skills (Horne, 1917). Ptah Hotep encouraged people to be truthful, kind, and tolerant in their communication. He urged active listening, especially for situations in which people lack experience, because “to not do so is to embrace ignorance.” He also emphasized mindfulness in word choice, noting that “good words are more difficult to find than emeralds.”