THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION STRUCTUREINTERACTION THEORY: CONCEPTUAL, CONTEXTUAL AND STRATEGIC INFLUENCES ON HUMAN COMMUNICATION Steven A. Beebe Regents’ and University Distinguished Professor Texas State University Department of Communication Studies 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666 This paper addresses Structure-Interaction Theory (SIT), a theoretical framework that both describes communication messages as well as assists in making predictions about how human communication can be improved based on listener preferences for message structure or interaction. <...> Communication structure is the inherent way information in a message is organized. <...> Communication interaction is a way of viewing a message with give-and-take, less sustained “notes,” more change in note sequence and briefer notes. <...> SIT seeks to provide a framework to assist communicators in appropriately adapting a message for maximum effectiveness. <...> Although Structure-Interaction Theory newly articulated here, it is anchored in both classic ways of describing communication, such as rhetoric and dialectic (Aristotle, 1959), as well as more contemporary communication theories (Salem, 2012; Littlejohn & Foss, 2008). <...> Specifically, the paper provides an overview of the theory and its conceptual assumptions, identifies how the theory can help explain and predict communication in several communication contexts (interpersonal, group, public communication), and suggests how SIT may help identify strategies to enhance human development. <...> Structure-Interaction Theory is based on an assumption that a human communication message which is understood, achieves the intended effect of the communicator, and is ethical, requires an appropriate balance of two things: structure and interaction. <...> Communication structure is the inherent way a message is constructed to provide a sustained direction to present information to another person. <...> In linking structure and interaction to Aristotle’s description of messages, rhetoric is a more structured, sustained speech or planned message. <...> Dialectic is characterized by a more spontaneous give and take interaction of messages and response to messages. <...> SIT posits that all communication can be placed on a continuum of structureinteraction. <...> The paper identifies applications of SIT to several communication situations and presents communication strategies that can enhance human development. <...> The paper also notes how SIT can be <...>