Any attempt to examine the development of theory in interpersonal communication is confronted at the outset with one rather striking and fundamental problem. The research literature and textbooks fail to reveal a clear, concise, and well‐developed conceptualization which distinguishes interpersonal communication from other forms of symbolic interaction. Several scholars have noted this problem, but systematic and constructive responses have been slow in developing. It will, therefore, be the purpose of this essay to provide one method for distinguishing interpersonal from other forms of communication and to draw out some implications of this conceptualization to the development of interpersonal communication theory.The attempt to provide a conceptualization of interpersonal communication will be divided into three parts: (1) the stipulation of criteria for evaluating such a conceptualization; (2) the explication of one method of conceptualizing interpersonal communication, and (3) the evaluation of our conceptualization.