Interpersonal Communication

Abstract

The story is told of a novice interpreter who once translated the English Biblical phrase \u27The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak\u27 into Russian as \u27The vodka is excellent, but the meat is bad\u27! Translation is not simply a problem for professional interpreters. All of us have to translate what other people are saying into words we can understand. More often than not we translate badly and the intended message is misunderstood. Even when talking with our closest friends and immediate family we can find ourselves struggling to reach a common understanding. How often is our speech littered with phrases expressing uncertainty and requesting enlightenment: \u27Could you say that again, please?; \u27I\u27m not sure what you mean\u27; or even the despairing \u27I wish I knew what you were talking about\u27! Over the past two or three decades communication researchers have sought to understand and elucidate the complex set of actions and words which go to make up communication between two people. How do people express their appreciation, show disagreement, reach common understandings, persuade, argue, cajole or deny? How are conversations begun, organized and ended? How does body language affect interpersonal communication? What makes communication successful, and why does it fail? The research covered in this issue of TRENDS focuses on the interactions between two people ( dyadic communication). The review reports on studies of communicative interactions, communicators, communication in relationships, communicative situations and mediated interpersonal communication