ABSTRACT
Why do people produce messages? Although one can conceive of many possible answers to this question, Berlo (1960) made an especially succinct and compelling reply: “to communicate is to influence with intent” (p. 128). From his perspective, people create messages in order to achieve some end. Communication is strategic, motivated, and purposive. Very much in line with this thinking is the notion that message production is the result of a goal-driven process.
