## 8 Conclusions  
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has struck humanity, imposing restrictions on verbal and non-verbal communication as well as on some aspects of people's personal lives, interpersonal communication is a human gift that cannot be taken away so easily and, no matter the obstructions it might encounter, it does not disappear, but it adapts. As such, this study has revealed the ways in which the interpersonal communication has managed to adapt as a result of the rules imposed by the pandemic, especially social distancing and wearing the face mask. Moreover, it has also captured each respondent's future projection of these changes in their own lives. As far as the verbal communication is concerned, the surveyed students seem to have embraced the new rules very well by switching without an effort to the online world, even if constrained to do so. Technology and, thus, smart devices have also demonstrated their worth not only in the educational field, but also in the healthcare domain [84, 85], helping people to stay connected for different purposes. At the same time, when wearing face masks, in order to make themselves understood better, students seem to have resorted to articulating the sentence or repeating it, using their voice as compensation, as some researchers have also noted [39], although other researchers have shown that this might lead to vocal fatigue and discomfort, especially in professional settings [86]. It can also be observed that some of the respondents enjoyed the social distancing rules, which reinforces the findings in other studies stating that personality traits (being an extrovert or an introvert) play an important part in how well people adapt to working from home and to learning online [55, 87]. As regards non-verbal communication and the use of face masks, the study posits that the non-verbal behaviors adopted by the respondents in such situations, when the lower part of the face is covered, are to focus on the interlocutor's upper part of the face (eyes) and on trying to hear more accurately as well as to use larger arm gestures or paralanguage means such as the loudness of the voice. The lower part of the face is paramount in expressing emotions [88], even if only positive ones as some studies suggest [89, 90]; therefore, it is important to transfer the weight of the covert part to the remaining unmasked part of the face, i.e., the eyes or eyebrows [40]--even though prolonged eye contact may signal discomfort for the recipient [91]--or to gestures and paralanguage, such as raising the voice [44]. The way the surveyed students perceived that social distancing has affected their personal lives is another aspect highlighted by the research. Consequently, since all the academic courses had moved online, the participants in the survey reported longer hours spent in front of the computer screens and an online communication etiquette that they had adopted quite quickly and that they would have probably not used in face-to-face interactions, e.g., keeping silent and not interrupting the person speaking online, being more punctual in the online world, paying more attention to the online interlocutors' reactions, being more disciplined in the online communication exchange leading thus to more harmonious discussions in the online meetings. The fact that some students were more punctual, more focused and more collaborative in the online classes is also emphasized by a Thai study on EFL teachers' perception of Bangkok students during the pandemic [92]. Furthermore, since the phone is the device that college students mainly use for leisure [93], it is also used, along with the computer or laptop, to communicate personal feelings and emotions during the social distancing time. Moreover, the respondents have stated that wearing face masks in the physical world has not hindered their interpersonal communication because they have resorted to other channels of communication such as voice, eyes and gestures.