Читать книгу The Communication Playbook - Teri Kwal Gamble - Страница 25

Channels are the media we use to carry messages. We classify channels according to which of our senses carries or receives the message, whether the message is being delivered verbally, nonverbally, or both, and the primary means of communication we use to deliver the message, that is, whether we use face-to-face interaction, text messaging, or a mass medium such as television or a podcast.

We are multichanneled communicators. We receive sound messages (we hear noises from the street), sight messages (we size up how someone looks), taste messages (we enjoy the flavor of a particular food), smell messages (we like the scent of a friend’s perfume), and touch messages (we feel the roughness of a fabric).

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Which channel are you most attuned to? To what extent do you rely on one or more channels while excluding or ignoring others? Effective communicators are adept channel switchers. They recognize that communication is a multichannel experience. The following dialogue between a husband and wife illustrates the multichannel nature of communication:

 Wife: Jim, you’re late again. Is that a drink I smell on your breath? Now, we’ll never get to the Adams’ on time.

 Husband: No, I didn’t stop for a drink. You must be smelling what’s left of my cologne. I tried my best to be on time (places a consoling hand on her shoulder).

 Wife: (Sarcastically) Sure, you tried your best. (Drawing away and shaking her finger) I’m not going to put up with this much longer. My job is every bit as demanding as yours, you know.

 Husband: (Lowering his voice) Ok. Ok. I know you work hard, too. I don’t question that. Listen, I really did get stuck in a conference. (Smiles at her) Let’s not blow this up. I’ll tell you about it on the way to Bill and Ellen’s.

What message is the wife (the initial source-encoder) sending to her husband (the receiver-decoder)? She is letting him know with her words, her voice, and her physical actions that she is upset and angry. Her husband responds in kind, using words, vocal cues, and gestures in an effort to explain his behavior. Both are affected by the nature of the situation (they are late for an appointment), by their attitudes (how they feel about what’s happened), and by their past experiences.