A manager notices that an employee is struggling to remember the nightly specials. The manager takes the employee aside during a slow moment to offer a few tricks for memorizing the dishes and to thank the employee for working hard to improve. The manager is practicing which type of communication?

• A. Intrapersonal
• B. Mass communication
• C. Interpersonal
• D. Public relations

Answer: (C)

Interpersonal communication is direct, two-way interaction between individuals. In this moment, the manager pulls the employee aside for a private, one-on-one conversation, offering practical tips and expressing appreciation. That personal, back-and-forth exchange aimed at guiding and motivating a single colleague embodies interpersonal communication. It’s not mass communication, which would reach many people through media; nor public relations, which focuses on the organization’s image with broader audiences; nor intrapersonal, which is about one’s own internal thoughts. This scenario centers on a personal, in-the-moment exchange between two people to coach and encourage.