Chapter 7 Interpersonal Communication Ethics

Chapter 7 was all about Interpersonal Communication Ethics, and was very different than previous chapters that we have read.  Interpersonal communication is about protecting and promoting the good of the relationship.  However, like the book tells us, “Not all communication is or should be interpersonal in nature, but when interpersonal discourse centers the conversation, relationship takes center stage,” (p. 120).  The three main sections that this chapter hit on were 1) Interpersonal communication, 2) Distance, and 3) Interpersonal Responsibility.  In order to have interpersonal communication the best it can be, a person needs to allow a certain amount of distance with the Other in the relationship, and each relationship has many different responsibilities.      

The main point I took from the section on interpersonal communication is that the relationship matters in interpersonal communication.  As we read, interpersonal communication ethics is not about “you” or “me”, but rather, “it is about a co-constituted communicative benchmark or standard that calls both parties to accountability for something that defines interpersonal communication – the relationship,” (p. 120).  For interpersonal communication ethics, if the dialogue or interaction no longer benefits the relationship, then a different communication is in place.  Interpersonal responsibility, on the other hand, is each person’s commitment and responsibility to the Other, or in essence, the relationship.    

The last section I will talk about, and the one I found most intriguing was that on distance. “Distance provides necessary space for each communicative partner to contribute to the relationship,” (p. 121).  At first I was confused as to why distance was part of interpersonal communication, and as I kept on reading I kept thinking about my sister and when she went off to college.  Although I did not think we were too close before she left for college, once she was gone, I knew that we had a very strong bond and distance only brought us closer.  “Distance is interpersonal space that nourishes the very thing that keeps persons together interpersonally – relationship,” (p. 125).  Like I stated earlier, distance is crucial to interpersonal communication because it determines the existence or absence of interpersonal responsibility between people.