The twelve signal systems

Diane Moore spoke at our church recently.  She is the host of Parent Talk Radio here on the west coast.
She spoke of what she termed the 12 signal systems.... a term and idea she does not own and credited to someone else, though I sadly did not write the man's name down.  Google is failing me as well in endeavoring to credit this man.

The 12 signal systems are really 12 ways of communicating and they can be ranked from least to most effective, though all of them are powerful ways of communication.

Below the 12 are ranked from least effective (read here also 'believable') to most effective:


12.  Verbal (speech)
11.  Written (symbols representing speech)
10.  Numeric (numbers and number systems)
  9.  Pictoral (2-dimensional things)
  8.  Artifactual (3-dimensional things)
  7.  Audio (use of nonverbal sounds and silence)
  6.  Kinesic (having to do with movement)
  5.  Optical (light and color)
  4.  Tactile (touch, the sense of 'feel')
  3.  Spatial (having to do with space)
  2.  Temporal (utilization of time)
  1.  Olfactory (taste and smell)

 It is amazing the amount of communicating one does without ever opening her mouth or picking up a pen or typing on a keyboard for that matter!

It is an eye-opening thing to think about the bottom half of that list, and what am I saying with the touch, space, time and olfactory stimulation that I employ daily, hourly and even by the minute?

Frankly,  I am found wanting.

Oh Lord, may my touch be frequent, soft and calming.
Help me not to claim space but share it.  Bend my will, dear Lord, so that I might give my time more than I protect it.
May my words and speech be like the sweetest honeycomb and a fragrant aroma to You and to those You give me.  Even while I feed their spirits in this way, teach me too, to feed their bodies and senses with sweet, savory, and satisfying tastes and smells.
Help me know when to light a room and when to darken it.
Make me to move more slowly and more in sync with Your Spirit.
Temper my tone... may it too, be an expression of Your sweet love.
Make me wise in the things I keep... may they too, reflect the hold You have on me.
Teach me to keep picture records of Your goodness be they captured on canvas or film or....
Help me not to confuse little with least.
May Your value on a thing, be it's proper measure.


Amen