A person's gestures can give away that he received a message. Gesturing is a powerful communication tool, which can alter body language, posture and stance -- all which signal how a person feels about the information he was just fed. For instance, someone who receives bad news might go from good posture into a slouched position, which represents sadness or disappointment. A simple nod or shake of the head is another way that people gesture to let others know that they received the message.
Communication can be experienced through physical touch. Some people have to use physical touch to communicate, such as people who are deaf, blind or disabled. By physically touching another person, you can get her attention and provide cues for how you processed the message. For instance, in order for someone who is deaf to communicate a pain in her leg, she may touch her own leg or touch the other person's leg. This is a physical touch cue that communicates where the pain is. If somebody is blind, physically tapping her on the shoulder lets her know that you are present. Even for people who are not deaf or blind, physical touch becomes a receptive communication style. For example, a handshake can symbolize agreeability or appreciation between the message sender and the message receiver.
Facial expressions play an important role in receptive communication. The face is like a canvas where emotions and feelings are portrayed visually. When it comes to receptive communication a person might smile when he hears happy news or frown when he is told something upsetting. Facial expressions are a way for the receiver of the communication to let the other person know whether he likes something or doesn't, feels good or bad or is confused. From the eyebrows to the eyes to the mouth, facial features work together to create a map of how a person receives information.
An object cue has to do with using a physical object to facilitate the communication process. If you ask a person if she is hungry and she cannot respond verbally, she may point to a cereal bowl instead. The cereal bowl becomes the object and the cue is that she is hungry. When the receiver of the message uses object cues you can assume that the person understood the communication, but is answering in a way that involves another object.