This course provides a theoretical and practical survey of the ideas behind and the practices of effective communication. It helps you become aware of the automatic processes involved that influence every day talk, of how face-to-face talk really works in the most common three recognized modes: connect talk, control talk, and dialogue talk. Effectiveness is measured by three things: getting what one wants, being understood from our point of view, and the other party being fine with the exchange. Later lectures analyze three vital contexts where positive, clear, and enabling communication is critical: between the genders, in the home and in the workplace.