How words, images and gestures communicate meaning

Have you ever wondered about how amazing it is that we humans can communicate with each other?

• How is it that when I open my mouth and make sounds that form words and sentences, you are able to understand me and respond to me?

• How is it that I can make a certain expression with my face, or use gestures with my hands, and you know what I mean even when I don’t use words?

• How is it that I can scribble a map on a piece of paper and you can find your way to the place you need to go?

• How is it that your romantic partner can put his or her hand on your shoulder and touch you in such a way to make you feel the communication of sparks of chemistry and desire, but your parent can press his or hand on your shoulder as a way to make you feel the communication of control (“hold still; stop that, now”)?

• How is it that I can say something sarcastically—really meaning just the opposite of the literal words that I’m saying—and you can tell by my tone that I am joking and don’t really mean it?

• How is it that you can be driving on the highway and a car can pull up behind you and turn on its flashing lights and you know you are supposed to pull over?

All of these are examples of types of communication of meaning that we can study that help to contribute to our communication and media literacy.

Do you remember when you were a child and it was fun to make up “codes”? Usually they were supposed to be secret and only known by you and your best friends. Well, our culture is full of codes of communication—language, codes of nonverbal communication, codes of visual communication.

Let’s think of successful communication as a transmission of a message, using some kind of mutually understood code, in which the sender’s intended meaning is basically understood by the receiver(s). In contrast, miscommunication would be the same kind of transmission but when the meaning intended by the sender—that is, the person trying to communicate—either doesn’t reach the ears or eyes or senses of the intended receiver or when the receiver interprets it in a very different way.

How does the sender/communicator know if his or her message was interpreted correctly? In most interpersonal, face-to-face communication, we have what is called “feedback”—that is, there is a response, either verbal or nonverbal, to acknowledge and affirm that the message has been heard. The receivers may agree with it (smiles, nods, affirmations, or responding appropriately in a conversation), or the receiver may hear it but not agree with it—but in this case, the sender still receives the message that it’s been heard (“You’ve gotta be kidding! No way! “ or a scowl or negative headshake or an argument).

As you can see from these examples, most face-to-face interaction involves multiple channels of communication: through spoken (oral/aural) language as well as nonverbal communication such as facial expressions, gestures, sounds and voice tones. Sometimes (like when a teacher gives a power point presentation) there is also written language involved, to add yet another layer to reinforce the message.

Many types of media communications, though, make this kind of communication more challenging. Introducing differences in time and space, as well as many new electronic technologies, has really changed the nature of communication.

How do the media add a level of complexity to the simple communication of meaning?

• Some media are real-time and simultaneous, but they limit the channels—that is, they take away one or more of the channels and limit our ability to confirm or interpret the meaning as clearly. Take, for example, a phone conversation when we have the first two channels above but we cannot see the facial expressions or body language, nor do we have written communication.

• Or consider an IM chat in which the written words are flying fast and furious, but you cannot hear the voice, tones, or see the body language and facial expressions of the person you’re communicating with.

• Many types of media communications have delayed responses, so they are in effect not simultaneous. They remove the time factor, and in doing so, leave the sender without any immediate feedback mechanism. Examples are old-fashioned letters sent by mail, as well as recorded media such as photos, video, audio recordings, film, and email. In these cases, the sender may get a response and feedback, but the feedback will be delayed for anywhere from moments to weeks to months or longer.

• Other types of media, which are generally considered mass media instead of interpersonal media, are produced with the intention of being basically one-way communications. This means that although there are receivers “out there,” the sender cannot anticipate getting responses or feedback from any or all of them, and so the intention of these messages is not dependent upon getting feedback.

• In these cases, the sender creates a message and “broadcasts” it out to a lot of people (examples range from making films to be shown in theaters, to broadcasting the news on radio or TV, to sending spam emails to everyone in your address book), not waiting or needing for them to answer or provide feedback, at least directly.

Even though there are so many different models of communication, there are still some very basic and fundamental processes by which we understand each other. It’s far more than just knowing the same language—we rarely think about how complicated all these layers and levels of understanding are, and they go far beyond needing to understand just the literal meanings of words or the grammar of a language. Understanding the mechanisms by which meaning is produced, transmitted and interpreted is at the heart of everything we do. In fact, it’s the very basis of culture, and it is essential for our expanded notion of literacy (if we acknowledge that literacy goes far beyond just understanding how to read or write).

How words and images signify

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