The more I teach and use perceptions, parts and channels, the more I wonder if these may be the most cellular building blocks of trust. However grand you care to define trust, it all boils down to, and starts with, closing channels and matching perceptions.

Why do we communicate, and what are we looking for?

According to the Process Communication Model (PCM), there are five main channels, Interventive (protecting), Directive (telling), Requestive (asking), Nurturative (caring), and Emotive (playing). Humans communicate and are in relationship with each other by protecting, telling, asking, caring, and playing. And, logically, there can only be five channels because a) there are only five parts that initiate a channel, and b) if more than one channel was initiated by the same part, they wouldn’t be behaviorally distinct and distinguishable. Can you even comprehend how delighted it makes a Workaholic that PCM is so astonishingly logical?

The Rule of Communication

PCM trainers have taught the diagram hundreds of times -  all five channels on one page, easy to see which parts go together, what personality type prefers each channel, and how to distinguish those channels that do double-duty. A great one-stop visual to summarize the Rule of Communication.

Trust at the most basic level

Here’s what enamors me; the Parts that close Channels. Scanning the right side of this diagram, notice that only two parts do all the work – the Emoter and Computer. Every Channel is closed by one of these two. I’m leaving out the Interventive channel since it’s not personality-specific. “Obviously,” you might be saying to yourself. It wouldn’t work or make any sense for the other parts to close a channel. Yeah, I know…I get that. Stick with me…

If the purpose of communication is to tell, ask, care, and play, then what is the end goal of communication? Based on the parts that close channels – there are only two end goals; safety and execution – “Am I safe with you?” and “Can I count on you?”  My Emoter transparently shows you how what you’ve just said is resonating with me – where you stand with me. It fosters psychological safety by being transparent while providing the initiator with candid, non-attacking signals about where they stand. The Computer executes – does stuff, plain and simple.

Closing the Nurturative and Emotive channels with the Emoter sends the message “You are safe with me.” Closing the Directive and Requestive channels with the Computer sends the message, “You can count on me.”

From this cellular starting point we can begin building the larger context of trust in relationships, organizations, and communities.

Close Channels, Build Trust

Closing channels builds trust one interaction at a time. This is why we tell our clients that trust is made or broken from here forward. Trust begins now.