Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

learn how to communicate and communicate better because a large amount of our time is allotted to
communicating with others. The last reason why we study communication is to increase our effectiveness.
Marriages and relationships often fail for several reasons. The most popular reason is that people don’t
know how to communicate with each other, which leads to irreconcilable differences. People often do
not know how to work through problems, and it creates anger, hostility, and possibly violence. In these
cases, communication needs to be effective for the relationship to work and be satisfying. Think about all
the relationships that you have with friends, family, coworkers, and significant others. This course could
possibly make you more successful in those relationships.
We all have specific and general reasons why we communicate with others. They vary from
person to person. We know that we spend a large amount of our time communicating. Also, every
individual will communicate with other people. Most people do not realize the value and importance
of communication. Sherry Morreale and Judy Pearson believe that there are three main reasons why
we need to study communication. 3 First of all, when you study communication behaviors, it gives you a
new perspective on something you probably take for granted. Some people never realize the important
physiological functions until they take a class on anatomy or biology. In the same fashion, some people
never understand how to communicate and why they communicate until they take a communication
studies course. Second, we need to study communication because we spend a large portion of our time
communicating with other people. Gina Chen found that many people communicate online every day,
and Twitter subscribers fulfill their needs of camaraderie by tweeting with others. 4 Hence, we all need
to communicate with others. Third, the most important reason is to become a better communicator.
Research has shown that we need to learn to communicate better with others because none of us are very
good at it.
Think for a minute of all the problematic communication behaviors that you have experienced
in your life: personally or professionally. You will probably notice that there are areas that could
use improvement. In this book, we will learn about better ways to communicate. To improve your
communication behaviors, you must first understand the needs for communicating with others.
Studies show that there is a link between mental health and physical health. In other words, people who
encounter negative experiences, but are also willing to communicate those experiences are more likely to
have better mental and physical health. 5 Ronald Adler, Lawrence Rosenfeld, and Russell Proctor found
that communication has been beneficial to avoiding or decreasing: 6
Stress
Anxiety
Depression
Cancer
Coronary problems
Common Cold
Research clearly illustrates that communication is vital for our physical health. Because many health
problems are stress-induced, communication offers a way to relieve this tension and alleviate some of the
Interpersonal Communication 4