The interpersonal communication courses at the University of Washington have adopted the use of experiential learning strategies in response to the changing student population and changing attitudes. A major goal of the program is to provide a solid, explicit academic foundation for the use of experiential strategies by (1) outlining the epistemological rationale for experientialism, (2) linking specific experiential activities, and (3) integrating with each experiential activity a "processing" discussion designed to help students generate "theoretical generalizations." A second goal is to deemphasize psychological constructs and to focus on communication. A conceptual shift from viewing listening as reproductive to viewing it as productive makes it easier for students to experience what it means to be "present" to the other. Rather than doing their creative thinking individually and then using group time to synthesize, students are encouraged to use talk itself to solve problems. A communicative approach to this set of learning skills not only responds to the current students' pragmatic, less self-centered orientation, but also puts communication teachers in the position of doing what they do best. (HTH)