According to media richness theory, why is face-to-face communication considered the richest medium? In your response, make sure to define “media richness” and address the four characteristics of rich media.

What will be an ideal response?


Media richness refers to the information-carrying capacity of a given medium. We can measure media richness by assessing four characteristics: speed of feedback, the ability to personalize the message, the availability of multiple cues, and language variety. Face-to-face communication is considered the most “rich” medium, in part because the speaker can adjust quickly to clarify the message based on instantaneous feedback. Likewise, face-to-face interaction easily allows the sender to customize the message for each audience. Face-to-face communication includes verbal and nonverbal cues so that the sender can reiterate the message with language and also with facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, and so forth. Finally, face-to-face interaction allows the sender to include/exclude jargon or other specialized language, based on the receiver. Because face-to-face communication happens synchronously in “real time,” the sender can immediately use feedback to adapt and respond instantly, thereby minimizing equivocality.

Communication & Mass Media

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