The study of speech goes back to the time of the Greeks and Romans. Important people during this time were Aristotle, Cicero, and Socrates. Later, in the Middle Ages, St. Augustine wrote about the art of giving sermons. Communication began to be studied toward the end of the twentieth century. In this discipline, interpersonal and group communication have been the focus of study, as well as verbal and nonverbal messages.

Everyone needs good communication skills. Effective communication helps bring us success and pleasure, helps us change the way others act and behave, and helps us in maintaining and improving relationships.

Communication is an ongoing process in which people share ideas and feelings. The elements of communication include sender-receivers, messages, channels, feedback, noise, and setting.

Every communication is a transaction. Viewing communication as a transaction focuses on the people who are communicating and the changes that take place in them as they are communicating. It also implies that all participants are involved continuously and simultaneously; that communication events have a past, present, and future; and that the roles the participants play will affect the communication.

Six kinds of communication are discussed in this book. Intrapersonal communication is communication with oneself. Interpersonal communication is informal communication with one or more other persons. Small-group communication occurs when a small group of people get together to solve a problem. Intercultural communication occurs whenever two or more people from different cultures interact. Public communication is giving a speech to an audience. Mass communication, which is discussed in the appendix, involves one message that goes out to many people via the mass media or the Internet.

Intercultural communication is communication that occurs when two or more people from different cultures interact. Culture means the ever-changing values, traditions, social and political relationships, and worldview created and shared by a group of people bound together by a combination of factors (which can include a common history, geographic location, language, social class, and/or religion).

Ethical communication is honest, fair, and considerate of others' rights.

Communication can be improved if you concentrate on several important areas. Find out what communication skills are important to you. Discover the kinds of communication that are most difficult for you and work to improve them. Seek out people who will help you develop these skills and give you support and feedback, and set a realistic timetable for improvement.