As a whole, the text takes a relational or transactional approach to communications theory. The essays in Part One focus on the basic elements of communication. Three readings serve to introduce the relational approach to interpersonal communication. In his Introduction, Stewart argues that one's quality of life is directly connected to one's quality of communication. More than just the exchange of information, communication is a person-building activity.
Subsequent readings explore both the verbal and non-verbal elements of communication.
Part Two focuses on the input or perception side of communication. The first set of readings discusses the awareness of one's own values, and the awareness of one's own actions and responses within communication. Many specific barriers to communication are described. The next set of readings focuses on the awareness of others. The authors discuss the subjective nature of perception and the ways in which stereotypes structure perceptions of other individuals, of relationships, and of social events.