Pedagogical features that highlight basic terms, key information, and theory make the text easy to read and understand

• Objectives are placed in each chapter opener and again repeated within each major head and chapter summary to help focus student attention on key concepts and information.
• Nutshell Summary Tables and Bullet Lists help students review and retain major chapter contents.
• Cultural Map relates major cultural differences discussed in chapter 2 to the rest of the text.
• UPDATED! Interpersonal Choice Points that open each chapter with a relevant scenario now include four alternatives to stimulate discussion within the classroom.
• Social Media and its increasing relevance to modern communication over the past five years is given greater attention throughout the book.

Chapter-by-chapter updates fill the text with the most recent research and information on interpersonal communication

• Chapter 1: Foundations of Interpersonal Communication includes an expanded discussion of ethics with an integrated self-test, as well as new discussions of code switching and strategic ambiguity.
• Chapter 2: Culture and Interpersonal Communication now includes a table that describes the metaphors of culture, as well as new discussions of internet dating, dialect, and accent.
• Chapter 3: Perception of the Self and Others in Interpersonal Communication has new discussions of the imposter phenomenon and the Pygmalion effect. There is also new material on attacking self-destructive beliefs and social comparisons in social media, with a new table that provides communication insights to writing an online profile.
• Chapter 4: Verbal Messages contains a new section called “Messages can be Onymous or Anonymous”, highly relevant to the subject of social media.
• Chapter 5: Non-Verbal Messages has a new section on interpersonal time, including a new time test, an exercise on height, a discussion on smiling, and a new table about effective time management.
• Chapter 6: Listening in Interpersonal Communication was moved from its chapter 4 location and now includes a new definition of listening as well as a new section on lie detection.
• Chapter 7: Emotional Messages features a restructured presentation of the principle of body and mind, as well as new discussions on the principles of influence and channels and introducing people.
  • Understanding Theory and Research box about the five stages of grief is included in this chapter.
  • Table on emotional expressions helps students understand non-verbal emotional messages.
• Chapter 8: Conversational Messages contains a new section on introducing people and a new table about the handshake. Excuses and apologies have been revised and treated as separate sections.
• Chapter 9: Interpersonal Relationship Stages, Theories, and Communication includes a new table that examines the causes of relationship deterioration.
• Chapter 10: Interpersonal Relationships and Types discusses relationships such as friends with benefits, social networking politeness, and new love styles text.
• Chapter 11: Interpersonal Conflict and Conflict Management includes a new principle that choice is an element of all communication forms and has revised its conflict model to better align it with this principle. A new discussion of social allergens has also been added.
• REVISED! Chapter 12: Interpersonal Power and Influence contains a revised section on bullying, initially in chapter 10, and a reorganized and expanded discussion of power plays.