Essay On Interpersonal Communication

2025 Words9 Pages

Interpersonal communication seeks to understand how humans use verbal and nonverbal cues to accomplish personal and relational goals. It is an important area of study, as it helps us better understand how to communicate with others. This paper draws upon interpersonal communication theories, and applies them to one of my own personal challenges. In doing so, we can see how these theories fit into our everyday lives. In addition, we can also improve our own communication skills, and resolve problems using these communication theories and strategies. This paper will look at communication theories, including Knapp’s relational stages, jealousy, social exchange theory, and relational maintenance, in the context of a conflict between my best friend, …show more content…

I knew that in order to keep our friendship, we would have to discuss the issue rather than avoiding it. One weekend, I went over to her house and I told her how I was upset that we were not able to spend much time together. I let her know that she was still my best friend, but I was disappointed that she would go to an out of state college, meet new people, and forget about me. She reassured me that we would continue to stay friends, and let me know that the past semester was difficult for her. She felt like she had fell into a depressive state because she did not know what she wanted to do after graduating high school. She did not know what college she wanted to go to, or whether she wanted to go to college at all, yet her parents had been pushing her to go to an in-state school. Because of this, she had lost motivation to do anything related to school. She had also brought up that she was jealous that I was spending more time with others than with her. After that discussion, I realized that I had not been a supportive friend. Rather than supporting her decisions, I made the situation worst by not communicating with her. Instead of making time to spend with her, I deliberately decided to spend time with others. After that discussion, I made an effort to spend more time with her. We started sharing activities together, such as going to the movies or shopping on the weekend. These activities helped restore our