Every interaction is multimodal.

In order to study the complexity of human interaction, we have to consider and analyze all modes that the participants are utilizing. A mode, according to Kress and Van Leeuwen (2001) is a semiotic system with rules and regularities attached to it.  While I take this general definition, I use the term "communicative mode" in order to emphasize the constant tension between the system of representation and the real-time interaction.

The major problem that students have when studying communication in its complexity is the fact that communicative modes are only heuristic units, they do not have clear boundaries, and can never be counted.  Yet, our language forces us to always imply countability.  Thus, when I speak of "the mode of print," I imply that there is one countable mode.  However, the mode is actually made up of - and is also a part of - many different semiotic systems.

When studying multimodal interactions, my focus is on the actions that individuals take. Some of these are lower-level actions (like turning a page in a magazine), some are higher-level actions (like having dinner or a conversation), and some are frozen actions, which are entailed in material objects (such as a cup of coffee and a pastry on a table - which tells us that somebody is having coffee; the layout of a room - which tells us that somebody arranged the furniture in a specific way; or a painting on a wall - which tells us that somebody placed it there).