Communication theory attempts to explain all forms of verbal and nonverbal communication between two organisms. A simple model was created by Stuart Hall, a more complex model follows: Sender -> Message -> noise -> channel -> noise -> receiver -> interpretation -> response and back to the beginning. Edward Hall has developed a model of nonverbal communication.

There are three general approaches to communication theory:

1. The meaning of a message is determined by the sender.
2. The meaning of a message is determined by the receiver.
3. The meaning of a message is determined by both sender and receiver.