The axioms of communication that I will further discuss fall under interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication is necessary to understand in order to see how Paul Watzlawick's theory fits into this type of communication. First of all, "Interpersonal communication (IPC) examines how people in relationships talk to one another, why they select the messages they select, and the effect the messages have on the relationship and the individuals"
(McDermott 546). McDermott further goes on to say that along with analyzing how communication can influence others, IPC throughly questions why people communicate the way they do.

Paul Watzlawick greatly studied communication techniques and relationship maintenence as a part of the cybernetic tradition. In the interactional view, relationships are subject to change at any time, and in order to keep them healthy, one must talk about the way they communicate. All communication is based on content and relationship and Watzlawick studied how these aspects make up the relational process. He also stressed the family system and saw that it was more important looking at how an individual's behavior affects a group setting. With the combined efforts of Don Jackson and Janet Beavin, Watzlawick's key axioms of human communication are:

1. "The axioms comprise the rules of the game.
2. Games are sequences of behavior governed by rules.
3. Each family plays a one-of-a-kind game with homemade rules and creates its own reality" ("View Resources by Theory (7th Edition).").

He also coined five axioms that make up interpersonal communication. However, the first four are gone into the most depth and clearly show what reigns true in every relationship. The first axiom is: One cannot not communicate. This is saying that communication occurs no matter what, whether it be through words, facial expressions, tone, or body language. He also adds a corollary to this axiom that says, "one cannot not influence" (Griffin). This shows that communication influences people and even one statement or movement can influence another to feel a certain way. The next axiom is: Communication equals content plus relationship. Therefore, regardless of the communication method, things are said and they're said in a certain way. The third axiom is: "The nature of a relationship depends on how both parties punctuate the communication sequence" (Griffin 183). This can cause conflict because in a relationship each person may punctuate an interaction differently. As it's mentioned in A First Look At Communication Theory, "Punctuation becomes a problem when each person sees himself or herself as only reacting to, rather than provoking, a cyclical conflict" (Griffin 183). The final axiom I will talk about is that all communication is either symmetrical or complementary. This axiom is to show that there can be different levels of power in a relationship, whether that be equal power for all parties, or an individual exerting more control than another. Edna Rogers and Richard Farace created a coding system to put the different types of control intro categories. These are: "One-up communication seeks to control the exchange, one-down communication yields control, one-across communication neutralizes control, and bids for dominance do not necessarily result in control of the interaction" ("View Resources by Theory (7th Edition).").

To learn more about Paul Watzlawick's axioms of communication view an excerpt of: Theorizing Communication

Also, other theories that fall under interpersonal communication can be seen in the following Encyclopedia of Communication Theory article:

Interpersonal Communication