What does the two sentence of the passage mean? Personally the language in this text is too... expanded Channels are both the route traveled by the message and the means of transportation. Face-to-face communication has three basic channels: verbal symbols, nonverbal cues, and visual images. Technologically mediated communication uses these same channels, though nonverbal cues such as movements, touch, and gestures are represented by visual symbols like emoticons (textual images that symbolize the sender’s mood, emotion, or facial expressions), emojis (small digital images or icons used to convey an idea or emotion), acronyms (abbreviations that stand in for common phrases), and GIFs (digitally stored images and short animations). For example, in a face-to-face interaction, Barry might express his frustration about a poor grade verbally by noting why he thought the grade was unfair, visually by showing the assignment along with the grading criteria for it, and nonverbally by raising his voice and shaking his fist. In an online interaction, however, he might need to insert a frowning-face emoticon (☹), the acronym “POed,” or a GIF of an angry man shaking their fist to represent those nonverbal behaviors.