The Social Interaction and Creativity in Communication System (SICCS) was constructed for purposes of (1) initiating more objective inquiry into talent identification programs; (2) fostering the observational skill and insight of practitioners wanting to facilitate the communication of creativity in others; (3) assessing the processes and conditions associated with creative performance; and (4) documenting over time the development, distribution, and range of creative performance. The SICCS coding categories make explicit a tentative, social-psychological conception of the nature of the verbal performance of talented individuals. According to this conception, verbal acts may be creative, and creative processes may be examined sequentially in relation to antecedent and subsequent speaker acts. Emphasis may be placed on specific verbal skills of individual speakers in brief or extended social interaction patterns. The coding system allows for an exploration of four modes of creative expression: the appraisal, prescriptive, information, and questioning modes. The appraisal mode centers on a way of making judgments or assessments. In the prescriptive mode some concern is expressed for control over objects, persons, places, and events, i.e., demands. The informational mode focuses on describing the characteristics of objects, persons, places, and events, and the questioning mode represents the request for some range of response without specifying any or all the content anticipated. The SICCS can be used as a direct observational tool or with the aid of audio and video tape recordings. (Author/MV)