COM 200: Interpersonal Communication
Article Critique: Talking Styles Research has been conducted to determine if communication skills play a role in determining just how long a friendship or relationship will last. If we use the same types of communication or communication skills in our interpersonal relationships, do we stand a better chance at a life-long friendship, or a lasting marriage? The studies have shown that how we communicate with others can have an effect on how long our interpersonal relationships can last. In his article, Bower (2010) explains when persons converse with one another and use the same type of function words in their conversations, that they are on their way to building a lasting and stable friendship or romantic relationship. These function words refer to the different parts of speech, such as the conjunctions and prepositions, which each person uses when he communicates. When we use them in the same way or with the same meaning as others do, it is believed that we are in sync with one another; in a sense, we are also more compatible as well. The author does not believe that using particular function words or parts of speech makes us more or less compatible with others. We simply use the language and words we have learned during our youth, or based upon the experiences we have had in our past. We may be drawn to those who speak the same way that we do, complementing one another, but it is not the only way that we should match our compatibility with others. Being compatible with others is based upon more than just the way each person speaks, or the words that one uses when speaking. For example, we are compatible with others based upon the hobbies that we enjoy participating in, the books that we enjoy reading, or the foods that we like to eat. We are also compatible based upon the experiences that we have in common, such as being a part of a military family. “Unconscious