Research on the communicative competency of faculty indicates that students can be motivated to learn by competent communicators. In general, communication experts have better competency skills, (i.e., they use more effective verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors) than do faculty as a whole. An area much in need of development for most faculty members is skill in asking questions. Teachers skilled in questioning techniques can move students back and forth through Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives. Too many faculty read from their notes, heads down, eyes focused on papers, with general disregard for the audience. Communication and power are integrally related and directly affect the classroom climate and subsequently the cognitive learning experience. (A table representing a taxonomy of behavior alteration techniques and behavior alteration messages is included.) (RS)