Like its predecessors, this sixteenth edition provides in-depth coverage of interpersonal communication, blending theory and research on the one hand and practical skills on the other. The book's philosophical foundation continues to be the concept of choice. Choice is central to interpersonal communication, as it is to life in general. As speaker and listener, you're regularly confronted with choice points at every stage of the communication process: What do you say? When do you say it? How do you say it? Through what channel should you say it? And so on. In large part, the choices you make will determine the effectiveness of your messages and your relationships. Author's major task in revising this edition, then, was to provide the theory, research, and skills that will prove helpful in this ever-changing world. Interpersonal communication has always been among the most important of all competencies people need to function effectively in personal relationships and in the world of work. Today, it's even more important. We need to learn how best to maintain contact and close relationships in the age of COVID-19 and to learn how to deal effectively with social and racial inequalities and with gender identities very different from the simple male or female. Interpersonal communication will not solve all the problems the world now faces, but it's an essential ingredient of the better world we all hope for