Weaver Award winning speech communication instructor Craig Streff believes the most important goals of his interpersonal communication instruction are a strong cognitive and affective base, without which practical interpersonal skills are not likely to be developed. Given this overview, what he considers to be the most significant points of the interpersonal unit of his speech communication fundamentals course include the following: (1) interpersonal communication is directly related to intrapersonal, public, and mass communication; (2) all interpersonal communication entails risk; (3) the ability to decenter cognitively and emotionally is learned through, and developed by, responsible interpersonal communication; (4) ethical and moral responsibilities are inherent in interpersonal communication; (5) effective interpersonal communication concepts and skills are particularly important within the family structure; (6) interpersonal communication is at once both an integrating and an individualizing process; (7) interpersonal communication, especially through speech communication, fulfills psychological needs; (8) interpersonal communication can both cause and resolve conflict; (9) interpersonally, communication can generally be classified into two modalities--"I-It" and "I-Thou"; and (10) effective interpersonal communication involves a wide repertoire of transmitters, channels, media, and skills. (HTH)