This study attempts to determine if general principles of effective communication may be defined, if certain principles may be seen as central to the judgment of an individual's effectiveness, and if such principles of effective communication can affect perceptions of effective and ineffective communicators. Respondents to a 60-item questionnaire were 306 undergraduate students and 302 teachers of kindergarten through twelfth grade. Four related dimensions were defined by each group: "other" orientation, similarity, message orientation, and clarity. Results of the data indicated that the formulation of a new paradigm was justified. This new paradigm asserts that the effective communicator will be perceived as other-oriented, as able to appropriately adapt the communication to different individuals, as committed to the message, and as an empathic listener who gives feedback to others. (Author/KS)