Although we rarely stop to think about the process of communication, it may be the single most important influencer of behavior. Humans aren’t the only species that communicates of course, nor are we the only species that uses language. For most of human history, we have assumed that we are the only ones who have “meaningful” conversations. We now know that other species communicate using all the senses they have available, and they are sophisticated in the way they use their senses for communication. The more we (humans, and especially those who specialize in animal research) learn about the ways other species communicate, the more impressive animal communication seems. It might surprise you to learn that your dog or cat understands more human language than you understand the language of dogs or cats.
Humans also use all their senses in communication, but most human communication emphasizes three systems: the visual, including what we see and what we show (gestures); the auditory, what we hear, what we say, and how we say it (volume, tone, and speed); and the kinesthetic, including what we smell, taste, and touch. The kinesthetic system also includes our emotional responses to internal and external stimuli. Pick a significant experience from your past, and think about what you remember having seen at the time, what you were hearing, what you were saying to yourself, what—if anything—you remember smelling or tasting, and how you were feeling at the time. If time permits, repeat that exercise with two or three more significant experiences, ideally of different types (happy, sad, scary, etc.), paying attention to the way you processed information at the time and then reprocessed it during the exercise.
The primary purpose of the previous exercise was to convince you that you really do process information in a variety of ways, including visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The memory (or memories) you selected for the exercise may not have revealed a preference for one of the systems, but you probably do have a preference. The preference may, of course, depend on the situation. If one of the memories was attending a football game or a tennis match, you may have been primarily aware of what you were seeing. If a memory was attending a concert, you may have been most aware of the sound of the music. In both cases, you could also remember other factors, as our minds do their best to “record” all the information presented in the environment.
The purpose of this particular newsletter article is to gain understanding of how you prefer to receive information. One of the things that has been increasingly obvious to me is that the Internet and information presented on it, has been moving steadily in the direction of video. If you look at any of the major Internet news websites (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, WSJ, HuffPo, Wired, and a variety of others), it’s hard to miss the gravitational pull of video. When the news websites first began, they were essentially the online equivalent of daily newspapers: they were designed for reading You can, of course, still skip the videos and read most of the stories, but it is increasingly difficult to ignore their presence. In many places, the once-ubiquitous daily newspaper is no longer published or distributed. TV news, on the other hand, has been gaining audience since its early days of “live” coverage of the Vietnam War. The popularity of YouTube, however, may be the best illustration of the increasing popularity of video. One more significant factor: most major universities now offer a variety of online and video-based educational programs.
Since its inception, the SCS website has been designed for those who wanted to read. Over time, we added some video, and Debra has recently added a number of audio files (“Wholesome Thoughts” and “Audio Files”). In comparison with what most websites are doing, however, the SCS websites continue to be addressed primarily to those who like to read. The communication channel (in English, at least) is auditory: the meaning is in the sound of the words, regardless of whether you are fully aware of that sound when you are reading.
We would like to know your communication preferences, especially with regard to what you want from websites. Are you happy with the current mix of text, audio, and video on the SCS websites? Would you like to have more audio and/or video available? Please take a minute or two to let us know how we can best match your communication desires by completing the form below: