Touch Communication

As Floyd points out in our text, a human’s sense of touch is the only one of the five senses that they cannot live without (224). Indeed, I can hardly imagine a life in which I was unable to feel. Affectionate touching is to me the most obvious type of touch communication, and also the most important. There doesn’t seem to be any better way of letting someone know that you care about them than by placing an understanding hand on his or her shoulder. The physical connection can be stronger than even the most heartfelt verbal reminder that you are there for them. The same is true when you tell someone you love them. The meaning is there but your feelings may be better represented through a hug or a kiss. Perhaps this is due to the old cliché, actions speak louder than words. Or maybe touch bypasses all the symbolic deciphering that our minds must cycle through when interpreting words or visual cues. In any case, touch speaks to something more primal and therefore more believable.

Words are generally thought of as a nonphysical act where as touch is completely physical in its nature. It seems then, that touch is a more straightforward and proactive way to express our feelings. A wife might say to her husband, “you tell me you love me but how do you show me?” An effective way of showing her may be through a warm embrace. This is a primary reason why touch communication is so effective, we see the act of touching as a concrete message as oppose to words, which we know are easily manipulated. As another cliché says, talk is cheap.

Touching in communication seems to blur the lines between sender and receiver. The physical connection between the two communicating bodies seems to invite the idea that the two are one being and is perhaps even intrapersonal in some respects. The intimacy and trust brought on by touch in both sender and receiver fosters open, meaningful communication.