The three "V's" of communication

Last March I was in Dallas at the SIL headquarters for some meetings, and on the whiteboard in the back of the meeting room someone had left the pie chart below (not as pretty, but the same information). I scanned it mentally and went on about my business, but I could not get it out of my mind. Could it be true? And if so, what are we doing focusing on written texts in BT while talking about scripture engagement? But after the meetings I went home and largely forgot about the chart and its implications.

Then the issue of police shootings in the U.S recently brought it to mind again. One investigative report was of a shooting of a mentally ill young woman with a known history of paranoid schizophrenia who was carrying a small hammer at a mental clinic but who at the time was considered by those at the clinic to present a danger only to herself. The police were called and given that information, but of course came in armed with guns and tasers, prepared for the worst, according to their training. The commentators pointed out that for a paranoid schizophrenic a policeman pointing a gun at them and yelling loudly communicates far more and differently than simply "Put down the hammer." "Put it down now." "I will shoot you."

This may help a a little:

"PUT DOWN THE HAMMER!" 

"PUT IT DOWN NOW!" 

"I WILL SHOOT YOU!" 

The police first tased her while she sat there not obeying their instructions, and then shot her, killing her, when she got up and walked toward them with the hammer still in her hand. By the way, this is not to fault the police, though it is to question their training. At the very least, many of us would be reluctant to call the police if a mentally ill loved one grabbed a hammer and began acting strangely, but did not pose a threat to anyone other than to her/himself.

All this got me thinking again of the three "V's." Finally I Googled the matter, and of course Wikipedia had an entry. While the issue is by no means settled, the take-away is that at least in face-to-face communication, even if the percentages are not always the same, the pie chart's order of visual/vocal/verbal is likely to usually be correct.

And of course it has all kinds of implications for BT. Comments are welcome.