Features of Interpersonal Communication

 We can define interpersonal communication as selective, systemic, unique, Processual  transactions that allow

people to reflect and build personal knowledge of one another and create shared meanings.

1. Selective : We don’t want to communicate intimately with the majority of people we encounter. For instance, if we get a phone call from a anonymous person  we may only respond to the questions and not engage the caller in any personal

way. 

2. Systemic: Interpersonal communication is also systemic,which means that it takes place within various systems.

As the transactional model notes, communication occurs in contexts that influence events and the meanings

we attribute.  Each of these systems influences what we expect of each other. 

Systems that affect the communication means include socioeconomic classes, cultural norms ,personal histories. All these contexts affect their interaction and its meaning.  Because interpersonal communication is systemic, situation, time, people, culture,personal histories, and so forth interact to affect meanings. Elements of communication systems are interdependent; each element is tied to all the other elements.

3. Unique At the deepest level, interpersonal communication is also unique.  Every person is unique and therefore irreplaceable. We can substitute people in  relationshipsbut we can’t replace intimates. When we lose intimates, we find new friends but they aren’t interchangeable with the ones we lost.Just as every person is unique.  As these examples show, interpersonal communication involves unique people who interact in relation to each other.

4.Processual Interpersonal communication is an ongoing, continuous process. This means, first, that communication evolves over time, becoming more personal as people interact. Friendships and every relationships gain depth and significance over the course of time, and they may also decline in quality over time. Relationships on the job

also evolve over time. An ongoing process also has no discrete beginnings and endings. Highlights the processual nature of interpersonal communication by including time as a dynamic, changing feature.. Because communication is ongoing, we can never be sure when it begins or ends. Because interpersonal interaction is a process, what happens between people is linked to both past and future.