Chapter 1:

The Importance of Interpersonal

Communication in Pursuing
Personal Goals
 A Goals Approach

• We use interpersonal
communication to pursue our
personal goals.

• Interpersonal communication
is a critical part of achieving
our goals.

• Goals indicate what we

generally seek to accomplish
in our daily lives.
• Defining Interpersonal
Communication

Interpersonal Communication
the exchange of symbols
used, at least in part, to
achieve interpersonal goals.
(This is based on six
assumptions.)

Point: Goals are the driving

force underlying interpersonal
communication.
 Assumptions of Interpersonal
Communication

• Assumption 1: Interpersonal Communication

requires an exchange between people.

• Assumption 2: Interpersonal Communication

occurs between people who are themselves
developing (changing.)

• Assumption 3: Interpersonal Communication

involves the use of symbols.

Symbols include verbal and nonverbal

representations of ideas, emotions, or
events. Meaning are in people.
 Assumptions Continued…

• Assumption 4: Interpersonal Communication

is strategic.

• Assumption 5: Communicators must be

competent in order to achieve their goals.
Competence means being both appropriate
and effective.

• Assumptions 6: People should consider how

their communication affects others. Ethics are
a part of interpersonal communication.

Ethics – the use of principles to guide

action.
 Defining Goal/s

Goal – a state you want to

achieve. Goals have both
cognitive and emotional
elements; they combine thoughts
and feelings.

People who share interpersonal

goals are interdependent.
 The Nature of Goals

1. Goals vary in their degree of abstractness;

general to specific.

2. Goals differ in clarity.

• Goals vary in their degree of challenge.

Self-efficacy – the achievement (attainment)
of a goal.

4. People often engage in multiple goals.

Primary goals – the most important to the
communicator.
Secondary goals – less important to the
communicator.
 The Nature of Goals
Continued…

5. Goals vary in terms of immediacy. Goals

that occur in the immediate future are called
proximal goals. Goals that are realized in the
distant future are called distal goals. We are
more likely to focus on proximal goals than
distal goals.

6. People’s goals are affected by the

communication event itself. Goals can be
changed or modified during interaction.

7. Goals prompt plans for action. Plans

differ in complexity and completeness. Plan –
the production of one or more mental models
detailing how you might achieve your goal
through interaction.
 Types of Interpersonal Goals

1. Self-presentation goal (identity management)

– we perform facework. i.e. competent;
friendly; intelligent; funny, etc.

2. Relational Goal – we maintain or neglect our

relationships. Relationships are the products
our interpersonal communication. How we
communicate depends in turn on the nature
and quality of our relationships.

3 Types of Relational Goals:

Escalating – growing more
intimate and more interdependent

Maintaining – activities and

communication behaviors
used to sustain a healthy
relationship

De-escalating – drifting apart

 Types of Interpersonal Goals
Continued…
3. Instrumental goals – we try to get
others to do us a favor or offer some
kind of resource; desires for self-
advancement. i.e. getting a ride to
school, obtaining a day off from
work, persuading someone to help
you print something from the
computer.

Communicators sometimes pursue

one type of goal at the expense of
other goals.

People communicate to achieve

multiple goals.