xiv PREFACE
management, and on and on, frequently with an eye toward helping people to learn
to do these things more effectively.
The enduring and widespread concern with communication skill and skill en-
hancement suggested to us that a survey of work in these areas would have broad
appeal for scholars and students across the spectrum of disciplines devoted to the
study of social interaction. Equally important, we became convinced of the practical
value of reviews of current research and theory on social skill for clinicians, therapists,
trainers, and laypersons. These complementary concerns, scholarly and practical, led
us to undertake the project that culminated in the production of this volume.
The initial impetus for the book, then, was simply the idea that social skills are
important, and that, for this reason, there is real value associated with being conver-
sant with the work on skilled performance, skill development, and skill assessment.
As the project took shape, however, we articulated four ancillary features that we felt
would make the book particularly useful.
First, the contributors to this volume were selected because they had established
reputations as preeminent researchers and writers in their respective domains of
study. These authors, drawn from several different academic disciplines, were in-
vited to contribute to this project because their expertise and professional standing
made them particularly well qualified to prepare chapters in their respective areas of
specialization.
Second, this volume provides a broad, comprehensive treatment of work on social
interaction skill and skill acquisition. We originally identified approximately 30 topic
areas and research traditions for inclusion, and, thanks to the efforts of the contrib-
utors, we obtained chapters for 24 of these areas. Thus, the chapters in this book
reflect a breadth of scholarly work pertinent to communication and social interaction
skill.
Third, the emphasis for each chapter is on providing an up-to-date review of
research in the area. In some cases, previous reviews of the topics addressed in this
book are now 10 to 20 years old, and for other topic areas, there simply have been
no prior reviews.
Finally, each chapter emphasizes, at least to some extent, empirically supported
strategies for developing and enhancing specific skills. All theoretical orientations are
not equally congenial to the notion of skill development, and prescriptions for skilled
conduct are better supported in some literatures than in others. Still, each of the chap-
ters suggests important implications for improving communication effectiveness. In
the end, then, our aim was to produce the most comprehensive, authoritative source
available on communication skills and skill enhancement—a volume with both prac-
tical and theoretical significance.
The chapters comprising this volume are organized into five major units: (1) gen-
eral theoretical and methodological issues (e.g., models of skill acquisition, methods
of skill assessment, techniques for social skill training), (2) fundamental interac-
tion skills (i.e., those that are transfunctional and transcontextual, e.g., nonverbal
skills, message production skills, message reception skills), (3) function-focused skills
(e.g., informing, persuading, managing conflict, providing emotional support),
(4) skills used in the management of personal relationships (e.g., friendships, dating
relationships, marriage, parenting), and (5) skills employed in various public and
professional contexts (e.g., negotiation, group decision making, teaching).
The authors of each chapter were asked to address a set of core questions or issues.
It was not our intention that these questions serve as the organizational scheme
for the chapters; rather they were intended to assist the authors in producing more