meta-communication media n. lit., ‘behind, or about, communication’. The provision of information about the scope, nature or application of communication itself. It is usually seen as a secondary or ancillary kind of communication that offers additional information on how the primary communication itself should be understood. As a term it has been usefully applied to the study of non-verbal, paralinguistic communication where this supplies an additional set of signals confirming, modifying or contradicting the meaning of verbal communication itself. mmo
