Essentials of Communication Skill and Skill Enhancement

Acknowledgments

Table 3.1 is adapted from Spitzberg and Dillard (2002) and used by permission of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

After teaching courses in interpersonal communication, communication theory, and nonverbal communication for many years, circumstances afforded me the opportunity to step into a new course focused on communication-skill assessment and development. I was somewhat surprised to learn that, in contrast to other areas where there are numerous textbooks from which to choose, there were few available options for a class on interpersonal skill assessment and enhancement – and a corresponding paucity of research-based treatments of these topics that might serve the needs of professionals in management, training, and so on.

Many ...