A theory of interpersonal communication called "the coordinated management of meaning" (CMM) involves three propositions. (1) The fundamental unit of communication is the "speech act," something that the speaker does to the listener by making that particular message at that time. (2) The structure of communication is episodic, consisting of a sequence of speech acts with a beginning, end, and internal structure. (3) Persons and cultures differ in terms of their repertoire of episodes; in the extreme form, cultural differences can make persons incomprehensible to each other. The implications of CMM involve personal transition, cross-group communication, episodic structure, and group structure. The research projects that have developed from the theory show that CMM is empirically relevant. (JF)