Chapter 7

Chapter seven focuses on interpersonal communication and I found this chapter to be a bit more interesting than some of the past chapters because it talks about communication on a much more personal, small scale. Also, I think this chapter was interesting because it relates (at least for me) to what we were talking about a few weeks ago about how we communicate and create ethical standards differently in private settings. I think the book touches on this on page 124 when it talks about how communication can fail when we demand or expect a certain type of communication in a certain context or setting without understanding that it is to meet our own standards or approval. The chapter uses this to explain the importance of distance and interpersonal factors, but I also see a tie to what we have talked about so far in terms of context and public vs. private.

One thing that stuck out to me while reading this chapter was the way the book seemed to stress that interpersonal relationships require or facilitate growth. I understood this to be saying that if there is no more growth within the relationship, it is no longer interpersonal communication being practices. At first I didn’t agree with this statement because I think that “growth” is subjective and plenty of relationships and communication within those relationships could be considered somewhat static. But upon further reading and consideration I realized that a relationship or communication in this type of state is probably not that productive and therefor is not longer that personal and the relationship will not grow. Also, the book mentioned that interpersonal communication is supposed to challenge us, and I am a big believer that struggles and challenges make us grow. My first thought and opinion of what the book was saying changed after I really considered what the reading was saying and what I think fosters growth and strong relationships.

One other thing I found particularly interesting in this chapter was what it had to say about interpersonal communication being a responsibility. Obviously I understand that we are responsible for what we say and do and there is an underlying ethical code I am generally trying to meet, but the book on page 126 talks about there being a responsibility for the relationship that is “about something”. This ties into the ideas about growth and interpersonal communication having to mean something or foster new improvements and it also ties in ethics. It points out that it is not only each person that carries responsibility, but each relationship because each one will carry a different ethical code and understanding. I think this shows the interpersonal part of it because it is not about general standards or goals anymore; it focuses on specific, personal goals or “good” (which could be its own paragraph or post in itself) of a single relationship or communication.