Skilled Interpersonal Communication

Established as the leading textbook in the field, this eighth edition of Professor Hargie’s Skilled Interpersonal Communication is thoroughly revised and updated with the latest research findings, theoretical developments and applications for practice. The contribution of skilled interpersonal communication to success in both personal and professional contexts is now widely recognised and extensively studied. Humans have a deep-seated and universal need to interact and develop close and lasting relational bonds with others. This means that the greater our communicative ability the more satisfying and rewarding will be our lives. The focus of this book is on the identification, analysis and evaluation of the core skills that are employed to maximise success in our interactions.

The first two chapters provide details of the nature of interpersonal communication and socially skilled performance respectively, with a review of the main theoretical perspectives pertaining to each. A new, third, chapter added to this edition investigates theory, research and practice in the field of digitally mediated communication. The main reason for the popularity and proliferation of social media across all age groups is explained, especially in relation to the large number of advantages or ‘affordances’ that it offers. The three main interlapping theories that have informed research in this field - social presence theory, media richness theory and media synchronicity theory – are discussed. The chapter then analyses the core aspects of social media and mediated communication and compares these with the proximal and analogue nature of face-to-face interaction. The differences between mediated and face-to-face communication are delineated.

The book then provides separate chapters on each of fourteen main skill areas in face-to-face and mediated contexts: nonverbal communication; reinforcement; questioning; reflecting; listening; explaining; self-disclosure; set induction; closure; assertiveness; influencing and persuading; negotiating; and interacting in and leading groups. The text concludes with a final chapter on the main ethical issues in interpersonal communication.

This edition is comprehensively updated with over 1,000 new references included, detailing current research and theory in these areas. To give just two examples, there is a new extended section on the nature and consequences of groupthink and how to circumvent it. There is also an analysis of the longer-term implications for behaviour of the tactics and impact of Project Fear by the UK government to secure citizen compliance.