Powell's Five Levels
of Communication
From "Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?" by John Powell
(Niles, IL: Argus Communications, 1969)
The lowest level is cliché.
"Hi, how are you?" "Whazzup?" It really isn't a cliché in the definitive way, but it is a rote pattern of speaking. Do you really care how someone is when you say: "Hi, how are you?" Does a person on the street stop to respond in detail when you say this?
The second level is reporting about others.
"How do you think the Cowboys will do this year?" "Dunno, but how about Jerry Jones' face lift. He looks like a lizard." This does not reveal anything personal about ourselves. It is simply a slightly more complex mode of communicating with others; we could call it "water fountain" conversation.
The third level is judgment.
"Joe Blow is a moron, and if you don't agree, you're one too. At this level, two people in a communication mode are able to express themselves, but one or the other does not pursue the expression with evidence or backup. Or, one or the other could decide to end the conversation by calling the other a name.
The fourth level is gut level.
Describe this kind of communication. This usually occurs between two people who know each other well and do not worry about convention. It usually involves judgment plus evidence or justification. The two people, called a dyad, come to conclusions through mutual satisfaction.
The highest level is PEAK.
Describe this kind of communication. This level occurs between two people involved in a marriage or a significant relationship. People in this relationship seem to know intuitively what each other thinks.
Back to Mass Media Stuff -- stuff I have collected over 28 1/2 years of teaching a beginning mass media course in journalism-photography at San Antonio College