This work investigates the fundamental question of how communicative acts function as consequential social actions rather than mere exchanges of information. Stuart J. Sigman, a scholar in the field of human communication, utilizes a social-constructionist framework to argue that communication is the primary mechanism through which social reality is negotiated and maintained. The text examines how specific linguistic choices and interactional patterns create, sustain, or alter the social structures that govern human relationships.

Scholars in the field of communication studies frequently cite this text for its rigorous theoretical grounding in social constructionism. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for an audience familiar with sociological and linguistic theory.