The article explores social support as a communicative process focused on optimizing communication. The author gives a list of criteria that makes it possible to characterize the support provided as effective and having a beneficial effect on the participants of the interaction. An overview of the conditions conducive to the successful realization of a communicative process is proposed.

There is characterized the adaptation to an interlocutor as a part of interpersonal communication. There are given the theoretical prerequisites of consideration of adaptation in the aspect of the communication theory; sorted out the signs of communicative adaptation. There is suggested the survey of the structural organization of communicative adaptation.