From speaking at the family dinner table to writing an email to business colleagues, effective communication is important. Interpersonal communication is the study of how we send and receive messages. Where two or more people are gathered, interpersonal communication is at play, helping us send and decode verbal and nonverbal cues. Many students who major in interpersonal communication pursue careers that rest on communicating efficiently, including human resources, recruiting, teaching and counseling.<br><br>Interpersonal communication students study the interplay between communication and relationships on both micro and societal levels. At the micro level, students develop analytic and communication skills needed to understand the process of relationship development, maintenance and deterioration. At the societal level, students acquire critical reasoning skills needed to interpret images and messages about families, teams and other small groups. In the classroom, we use a narrative, story-driven approach to help students understand core interpersonal communication theories.