This is the ideal text for students taking courses in interpersonal communication. It draws together all the main strands in communication theory to illustrate communication processes in action. This new edition fully reflects recent changes in communication syllabuses and includes more material on intracultural/intercultural communication, gender and communication, discourse and textual analysis and emotional intelligence. Extensive use of questions, case studies and examples shows students how to relate the theory to common experiences of communication, while suggestions for further reading enable them to widen their knowledge of the field.