Political Talk, Conversation, Discussion, Debate, or Deliberation? An Interpersonal Political Communication Definition and Typology

Abstract

Interpersonal communication is at the core of every form of human communication system, and the realm of political communication is no exception. Through interpersonal communication, individuals gain knowledge about the political world, understand the common goals and values of their political system, and learn how to participate in political tasks. As do many other research areas, interpersonal communication research faces numerous challenges. There is a lack of conceptual organization and precision about names and labels such as political talk, political conversation, public dialogue, political dialogue, political discussion, political debate, and political deliberation. Apparently, these expressions refer to the same idea: interpersonal communications that fall into the political realm. However, each term has a diverse epistemological, normative, and theoretical background and represents a different way of conceptualizing this idea. This essay suggests a general definition for interpersonal political communication and a matrix that organizes the existing academic knowledge about this topic.