This is a book about intercultural communication. More specifically, it is about intercultural communication competence, the ability to interact appropriately and effectively with people of differing cultures in order to achieve communication goals. 
　
　The book contains thirteen chapters, which are selected from journal articles and book chapters authored and coauthored by myself from 1989 to 2007. The thirteen chapters are classified into four parts in this book: conceptual explication, empirical research, theory building, and measuring instrument. 
　
　The first part, Conceptual Explication, includes four chapters aiming to clarify the definition and nature of intercultural communication competence. The second part, Empirical Research, includes three chapters dealing with the empirical tests of intercultural communication competence. The third part, Theory Building, includes three chapters attempting to develop a theory of intercultural communication competence from three perspectives. The fourth part, Measuring Instrument, includes two chapters reporting the development and validation of intercultural sensitivity instrument and the test of the instrument in a different cultural context. Moreover, the Appendix includes a chapter that examines intercultural communication competence in the context of the Internet. 
　
　Together, the book presents a perspective to demystify the concept of intercultural communication competence. Although different views and approaches have been employed in the study of intercultural communication competence in the last four decades, the chapters in this book should be able to help readers draw a more comprehensive picture of the face of intercultural communication competence. 
　
　Finally, I would like to express my special appreciation to Professor William J. Starosta, who coauthored with me for five of the thirteen chapters in this book. His valuable inputs contribute to the formation of the systematic view on the study of intercultural communication competence in this book. In addition, the research team, led by Professor Wolfgang Fritz, that tested the validity of intercultural sensitivity instrument in Germany deserves my since gratitude too. 

GuoMing Chen
January, 2010
University of Rhode Island & 
South China University of Technology