Communication, of course, involves far more than spoken or written language. Gesture, scent, colour, movement, touch, sound … any reflection on how we communicate must involve thought about these additions/alternatives to using words.

· Ask groups of students to explore the various ways in which emotions can be symbolized - fear, forgiveness, anger, happiness, for example. How can these emotions be expressed in sound, gesture, colour, movement. (It is sometimes helpful to think about how animals express these feelings.) Develop the ideas into a form of 'Emotional Charades'. Can the various groups interpret each others' 'meaning'?

· Words make things easier in some ways, but words can be slippery things too. Extend and focus the previous activity by asking groups/individuals to brainstorm (or use a thesaurus) to generate synonyms for their key emotion. For example, 'fear' can suggest timidity, anxiety, terror, suspicion… Then create a collage using these various words. As written words are physical things, students will have to design a suitable 'typography' for their words, which will reflect their meaning.