“DeVito does an outstanding job bringing the cultural role in interpersonal communication to the students in real-world examples and thought-provoking exercises.”

Shannon Valdivia, Mt. Hood Community College

“I like the format and content of Messages and its practical approach to everyday communication situations when I have compared it to other texts. ”

Patricia J. Minton, Hibbing Community College

“I like all of the features and that is what I think makes this book more interesting to students. It's not just reading...students can test themselves, see the skills outside of the classroom, and have adequate review of the material. ”

Julie Simanski, Des Moines Area Community College

“I use Messages because it is thorough, easy to read and helps drive home what I am trying to teach. It helps me create meaning and understanding about interpersonal relationships.”

Gretchen A. Harries, Austin Community College

“I like the inclusion of ethics throughout, something often lacking in interpersonal texts, and I'm very impressed by a separate chapter on power, which is unusual and most welcome...”

Victoria Clements, College of Southern Maryland

“DeVito does a good job of incorporating new knowledge into the text and gives great 'real life' examples for the student.”

Leslie Maggard, McLennan Community College

“ The text is attractively laid out. I like the use of color very much...and the quotations in the margins are superb.”

Chris Kennedy, Western Wyoming Community College

“ The text is first rate in organization and content presentation; effective teaching of research, theory, and skills; and layout and design elements.”

• Exploration of cultural differences (both in Ch. 9 and throughout the text) increases students' sensitivity, while learning to communicate more effectively in a diverse world.

• Fully integrated coverage of critical thinking encourages students to make more reasoned and logical interpersonal choices.

• Discussions of power and interpersonal communication in Chapter 12 both provide students with the skills and experiences needed to become more effective, and empowered.

• Ethical Messages boxes highlight a variety of ethical issues in interpersonal communication—including censorship, outing, lying, gossip, and silence—encouraging students to formulate their own ethical principles.

• Along with special listening boxes in each chapter, an entire chapter is devoted to listening (Ch. 4), a skill critical to successful communication, and also provides special listening boxes in each chapter.

• Useful, interactive pedagogical features include self-tests that encourage students to reflect on and think about themselves in terms of their own interpersonal communication skills, end-of-chapter key word quizzes that review the significant vocabulary terms introduced in each chapter, and discussion questions to promote challenging debate in the classroom.