Rate My Professor Chris Pudlinski

Christopher Pudlinski serves as Professor and Interim Chair of the Communication Department at Central Connecticut State University. He earned his PhD in Communication from Temple University in 1998, MA in Speech Communication from Pennsylvania State University in 1987, and BS in Rhetoric and Communication from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1985. Pudlinski teaches courses such as Nonverbal Communication, Research Methods, Interpersonal Communication, Relational Communication, Public Speaking, and Training and Development. His areas of expertise encompass conversation analysis, interpersonal communication, social support, and communication disfluencies, focusing particularly on interactions in peer telephone support lines and warm lines. As Interim Chair, he oversees departmental programs including the BA and MS in Strategic Communication, Media Studies minor, and others.

In his extensive publication record, Pudlinski explores the nuances of peer support communication through microanalytic approaches. He is the author of the book Interpersonal Communication in the Age of Social Media (online, Dubuque, IA: Great River Learning, 2020). Selected peer-reviewed articles include: Pudlinski, C., & Chen, R.S.Y. (2023). Destigmatizing disfluency: Stuttering in peer telephone support. Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders, 14, 220-240; Pudlinski, C. (2019). Formulating another’s report of troubles in peer support. Communication and Medicine, 16(1), 67-80; Pudlinski, C. (2009). Empowerment on warm lines: Microanalytical explorations of peer encouragement. Text & Talk, 29, 439-458; Pudlinski, C. (2008). Encouraging responses to good news on a peer support line. Discourse Studies, 10, 795-812; Pudlinski, C. (2005). Doing empathy and sympathy: Caring responses to troubles tellings on a peer support line. Discourse Studies, 7, 267-288; and Pudlinski, C. (1998). Giving advice on a consumer-run warm line: Implicit and dilemmatic practices. Communication Studies, 49, 322-341. Additionally, he contributed chapters to The Discourse of Advice (2012), Calling for Help: Language and social interaction in telephone helplines (2005), and Transformative Learning through Engagement (2012), as well as an entry on "Support talk" in the Blackwell International Encyclopedia of Communication (2008). Pudlinski’s research elucidates sequential patterns, functional aspects, and dilemmatic practices in providing social support among peers.