The Handbook of Communication Skills

The Handbook of

Communication Skills

The Handbook of Communication Skills is recognised as one of the core texts in the

field of communication, offering a state-of-the-art overview of this rapidly evolving

field of study. This comprehensively revised and updated fourth edition arrives at a

time when the realm of interpersonal communication has attracted immense attention.

Recent research showing the potency of communication skills for success in many

walks of life has stimulated considerable interest in this area, both from academic

researchers and from practitioners whose day-to-day work is so dependent on effective

social skills.

Covering topics such as non-verbal behaviour, listening, negotiation and persua￾sion, the book situates communication in a range of different contexts, from interact￾ing in groups to the counselling interview. Based on the core tenet that interpersonal

communication can be conceptualised as a form of skilled activity, and including new

chapters on cognitive behavioural therapy and coaching and mentoring, this new edi￾tion also places communication in context with advances in digital technology.

The Handbook of Communication Skills represents the most significant single

contribution to the literature in this domain. Providing a rich mine of information for

the neophyte and practising professional, it is perfect for use in a variety of contexts,

from theoretical mainstream communication modules on degree programmes to voca￾tional courses in health, business and education. With contributions from an interna￾tionally renowned range of scholars, this is the definitive text for students, researchers

and professionals alike.

Owen Hargie is Emeritus Professor of Communication at Ulster University. He is

Associate Fellow, and honorary life member, of the British Psychological Society, and

an elected member of the prestigious Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters.

He was conferred with the award of a Senior Distinguished Research Fellowship by

Ulster University in recognition of his prolific research contributions over four decades.

ROUTLEDGE

The Handbook of

Communication Skills

Fourth Edition

Edited by Owen Hargie

Fourth edition published 2019

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2019 selection and editorial matter, Owen Hargie; individual chapters, the

contributors

The right of Owen Hargie to be identified as the author of the editorial

material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted

in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents

Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or

utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now

known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in

any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing

from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or

registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation

without intent to infringe.

First edition published by Psychology Press 1986

Third edition published by Routledge 2006

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalog record has been requested for this book

ISBN: 978-1-138-21912-0 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-21913-7 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-43613-5 (ebk)

Typeset in Century Old Style

by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India

For my wife, Patricia

vii

Contents

Contents

Notes on contributors ix

Editorial introduction 1

Part I

Communication skill in theory and practice 7

1 Skill in theory: Communication as skilled performance 9

Owen Hargie

2 Skill in practice: An operational model of

communicative performance 41

Owen Hargie

Part II

Core communication skills 79

3 Nonverbal behaviour as communication:

Approaches, issues, and research 81

Randall A. Gordon and Daniel Druckman

4 Questioning 135

Karyn Stapleton

5 Reinforcement 163

Len Cairns

6 On explaining 183

George Brown and Sarah Edmunds

viii

CONTENTS

7 Self-disclosure: Strategic revelation of information

in personal and professional relationships 217

Charles H. Tardy and Joy Smithson

8 Listening 259

Graham D. Bodie

9 Humour and laughter 287

May McCreaddie and Jon Harrison

10 Persuasion 319

Daniel J. O’Keefe

Part III

Applying skills in specific contexts 337

11 Asserting and confronting 339

Richard F. Rakos

12 Interacting in task groups 377

Arjaan Wit

13 Negotiating 399

Colleen E. Mills

14 Mentoring and coaching 423

Bob Garvey

15 Relational communication 451

Steve Duck and Pam L. Secklin

Part IV

Applying skills in specialised

interviewing contexts 475

16 The employment interview 477

Rob Millar and Anne Tracey

17 The Cognitive Interview 511

Amina Memon and Julie Gawrylowicz

18 The developmental counselling and therapy interview 531

Sandra A. Rigazio-DiGilio and Allen E. Ivey

19 Cognitive behavioural communication skills 557

Frank Wills

20 The appraisal interview reappraised 585

Dennis Tourish

Part V

The training context 607

21 Training in communication skills:

Research, theory and practice 609

Owen Hargie

Index 623

ix

Notes on contributors

Graham D. Bodie is Visiting Professor in the Meek School of Journalism and

New Media at The University of Mississippi, USA.

George Brown is a retired professor, who worked in the School of Education

and subsequently in the Department of Medical Education at the University of

Nottingham, UK.

Len Cairns is an adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at

Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and a Visiting Professor at Middle￾sex University, UK.

Daniel Druckman is Professor Emeritus of Public and International Affairs

at George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA, Honorary Professor at Mac￾quarie University, Sydney, Australia, and Honorary Professor at the University

of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Steve Duck is Daniel and Amy Starch Distinguished Research Professor in the

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Chair of the Department of Rhetoric,

at the University of Iowa, USA.

Sarah Edmunds is Senior Lecturer in Exercise Psychology at the University

of Chichester, UK.

Bob Garvey is one of Europe’s leading academic practitioners in mentoring

and coaching.

Julie Gawrylowicz is Lecturer in Psychology at Glasgow Caledonian Univer￾sity, UK.

x

NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Randall A. Gordon is Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota,

Duluth, USA. He is Executive Editor at the Journal of Social Psychology.

Owen Hargie is Emeritus Professor in the School of Communication, and a member

of the Psychology Research Institute at Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK.

Jon Harrison is Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Birming￾ham City University, UK.

Allen E. Ivey is Distinguished University Professor (Emeritus) at the University of

Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.

May McCreaddie is Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing at the Royal College of

Surgeons Ireland Medical University of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain.

Amina Memon is Professor of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of

London, UK.

Rob Millar was Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Ulster University, Northern

Ireland, UK, and is now an independent researcher.

Colleen E. Mills is Professor of Management at the University of Canterbury Busi￾ness School in Christchurch, New Zealand, and a Faculty International Affiliate (FIA)

at Audencia Business School in Nantes, France.

Daniel J. O’Keefe is the Owen L. Coon Professor of Communication Studies at

Northwestern University, USA.

Richard F. Rakos is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychology at Cleve￾land State University, USA, and maintains an active clinical practice as a behaviour

therapist.

Sandra A. Rigazio-DiGilio is Professor in the Department of Human Development

and Family Studies, Marriage and Family Therapy Programs, at the University of

Connecticut, Storrs, USA.

Pam. L. Secklin is Professor of Communication Studies at St. Cloud State

University, USA.

Joy Smithson is a data scientist at SchoolStatus, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.

Her research interests include financial attitudes, conflict, and power in romantic

relationships.

Karyn Stapleton is Senior Lecturer in Interpersonal Communication, and a member

of the Language and Linguistics Research Institute, at Ulster University, Northern

Ireland, UK.

xi

NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Charles H. Tardy is Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at The Univer￾sity of Southern Mississippi, USA.

Dennis Tourish is Professor of Leadership and Organisation Studies at the Univer￾sity of Sussex, UK.

Anne Tracey is a lecturer, researcher, and practitioner based in the School of Psy￾chology, Ulster University, Magee Campus, Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK.

Frank Wills is a CBT therapist living in Bristol but hailing originally from the

Wirral, UK. As a life-long supporter of Tranmere Rovers, he is well versed in the prob￾lems of anxiety and depression.

Arjaan Wit is Associate Professor in Social and Organisational Psychology and also

the Director of Bachelor’s and Master’s Studies in Psychology at Leiden University,

The Netherlands.

1

Introduction

Editorial introduction

F e w a r e a s o f ac a d e m i c study have attracted so much atten￾tion as that of interpersonal communication. In recent years there

has been a deluge of research studies in this domain. The reasons for this

were aptly summarised by Wiemann (2003, p. ix):

Our ability to create and sustain our social world depends in large

measure on how well we communicate. People’s social skills are

crucial to their well-being – individually and collectively. The

importance of understanding skilled behavior in all its complex￾ities cannot be overstated.

Competence in communication is vital for our health, our relationships, and

indeed for all of the activities in which we engage as functioning humans

(Hannawa & Spitzberg, 2015). Studies have shown a clear and positive rela￾tionship between effective interpersonal skills and a range of benefits such

as greater happiness in life, resilience to stress and psychosocial problems,

and enhanced academic and professional achievements (Müller, Peter,

Cieza, et al., 2015; Hargie, 2017). Indeed, in examining the question as to

why we should study this area, the answer given by Stewart, Zediker, and

Witteborn (2005) was that we study it because there is a direct relationship

between the quality of our communication and the quality of our lives.

In relation to the professional sphere, as society develops and

becomes more complex, there has evolved the need for a greater num￾ber of what Ellis (1980) termed ‘interpersonal professionals’, who spend

a large part of their working lives in face–face interaction with others.

Such professionals include doctors, teachers, speech therapists, physio￾therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, psychologists, nurses,

2

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

career advisers, counsellors, and business executives, to name but a few. Historically,

the training of many of these professionals focused almost entirely upon the acquisi￾tion of specialised knowledge. More recently, however, the centrality of interpersonal

communication in their work has been recognised and catered for in training. As noted

by Greene and Burleson (2003, p. xiii): ‘In light of the importance of communication

skills, it is hardly surprising that they have been a continuing object of study by schol￾ars and researchers from numerous disciplines.’

Competence in most types of profession involves the effective implementation of

three main sets of skills.

1 Cognitive skills. This relates to the knowledge base of the profession, that which

characterises it and sets it apart from others. Barristers must have knowledge of

existing legal structures, doctors need to understand human anatomy, and so on.

2 Technical skills. These are the specialised practical and manipulative techniques

essential to the profession. Thus, a surgeon must be able to utilise a scalpel skil￾fully, a nurse has to be able to dress a wound, and a surveyor needs to know how

to use a theodolite.

3 Communication skills. Here, the professional must have the ability to interact

effectively with clients and other professionals.

Traditionally, the education and training of most professional groups placed emphasis

upon the former two sets of skills at the expense of interpersonal skills. This is some￾what surprising, given that it has long been recognised that the ability to communicate

effectively is essential for success in many walks of life (McCroskey, 1984). The oldest

extant essay, written circa 3000 BC, consisted of advice to Kagemni, the eldest son of

Pharaoh Huni, on how to speak effectively in public. Likewise, the oldest book, the

Precepts written in Egypt by Ptah-Hotep about 2675 BC, is a treatise on effective com￾munication. It can thus be argued that scholarship in the field of communication has

been ongoing for some 5,000 years.

In recent years, communication as a social science discipline has developed at a very

rapid pace. There has been a huge growth in communication research and theory, as evi￾denced by the number of journals and books now devoted to this discipline. This has been

paralleled by a concomitant large increase in the number of students undertaking under￾graduate and postgraduate degree programmes in communication. A significant propor￾tion of this work has been at the interpersonal level, including the study of professional

interaction. Given the importance of effective communication, it is reasonable to expect

that professionals should have knowledge of, and expertise in, interpersonal skills. There￾fore, it is hardly surprising that the study of such skills is mandatory in most professions.

Increasing attention has also been devoted to the entire spectrum of socially

skilled interaction. The fairly obvious observation that some individuals are more

socially skilled than others has led to carefully formulated and systematic investiga￾tions into the nature and functions of social skills. There are three discrete contexts

within which such investigations have taken place.

1 Developmental. Here the concern is with the development of skilled behaviour in

children; with how, and at what stages, children acquire, refine and extend their

repertoire of social skills.