The flow of messages in the information age is no longer predominately down a chain of command but increasingly lateral. The modern communications process is also task specific, faster paced, more graphic and less verbal, and more technologically directed. These changes have rendered our definitions of communication skills and our school curriculum obsolete. Among the skills neglected in typical curricula are message compression, decoding and interpreting condensed messages, kinesics, synthesizing information, visual literacy, and rapid analysis and evaluation of message validity. To include these skills in the school curriculum we should (1) concentrate on transitional skills, (2) adopt a more holistic teaching approach, (3) identify genuinely needed as opposed to social grace communication skills, (4) increase opportunities for lateral communication, and (5) develop the concept of the "communication wardrobe," appropriate skills for different situations. For instance, skimming and listening for saliency, reading a text as an outline, compressing common words, and word games using these techniques can help develop the basic skill of message compression--getting the maximum amount of quality information in the shortest time. (JL)