Successful and Unsuccessful Interpersonal Communication Successful
communication refers to an interpersonal communication situation in which the information
the source intends to share with the destination and the meaning the destination derives from the
transmitted message are the same. Conversely, unsuccessful communication is an
interpersonal communication situation in which the information the source intends to share with
the destination and the meaning the destination derives from the transmitted message are different.
To increase the probability that communication will be successful, the message must be encoded
so the source’s experience of the way a signal should be decoded is equivalent to the destination’s
experience of the way it should be decoded. If these experiences match up, the probability is high
that the destination will interpret the signal as intended by the source. Figure 15.5 illustrates these
overlapping fields of experience that ensure successful communication.