Verbal and non-verbal communication are both important for establishing shared meaning. There are three key aspects of active communication: congruence between verbal and non-verbal cues to build trust, effective use of non-verbal behavior, and accurately expressing feelings. Barriers to communication called "icebergs" include intimidating, commanding, excessively arguing, blaming, excessively diagnosing, ridiculing, giving solutions, and sermonizing. Effective communication requires avoiding these barriers and using techniques like maintaining eye contact, having a pleasant facial expression, gentle gestures, an inspiring tone of voice, and nodding to convey understanding.