metacommunication

is communication about communication (for example, in irony) whereby some kind of commentary is being made within the communication itself about how a piece of information ought to be interpreted.

a secondary communication (including indirect cues) about how a piece of information is meant to be interpreted. It is based on idea that the same message accompanied by different meta-communication can mean something entirely different, including its opposite, as in irony.[1] The term was brought to prominence by Gregory Bateson to refer to 'communication about communication', which he expanded to: 'all exchanged cues and propositions about (a) codification and (b) relationship between the communicators'.[2] Metacommunication may or may not be congruent, supportive or contradictory of that verbal communication'.

metacommunication, n.Definitions

metacommunication