Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal political communication refers to episodes of political conversation and discussion that take place between the non-elite members of a political community. Often conceived as a basic form of political participation, it includes activities like conveying and receiving information on political matters, exchanging arguments about how they are to be evaluated, or attempting to convince others of certain points of view. In contrast to mass communication, interpersonal communication is not one-sided but bidirectional. At least in principle it provides all participants with similar chances to control its course. Instant feedback and constant readjustments of the flow of communication are always possible. The structure of its messages is complex and multidimensional, as it involves not only exchanges of verbal statements but also nonverbal metacommunication that may ...