Immediacy means prompt communication, as opposed to delayed communication (Fanning, 1995). Lack of specificity in communication hinders intimacy or closeness.

Hallie speaks out her mind on what she is thinking. Hallie later asks whether that was why they broke up (Meyers et al, 1998). Her mother explains that while she wanted to stay in California her husband preferred London. In the Parent Trap movie, there is specificity when Hallie asks her mother why they divorced. People may be unable to say what they feel like and think because of fear or lack of information. Specificity implies the expression of one’s hidden emotions, wants ideas and observations (Riski, (2002). As a result, Cecil, Weiss, and Richard have the view that, “To achieve meaningful communication pattern children are supposed to be brought up in an environment which is free from ambiguity, unfaithfulness, mistrust, and understanding and above all from pretense” (Fanning, 1995). Children in most cases imitate how the older members of society express themselves, determining the overall behavior of that society.

In every family or society, we have children as the backbone in so far as communication is concerned. This is seen when Meredith threatens the girls that when she gets married they are going to have a rough time, instead of dealing with the issue of making them like and accept her (Meyers et al, 1998). Threatening is a listening block where the instructor or the speaker instead of talking about the issues that are at hand or that they feel uncomfortable about, talk about dangerous things they plan to do if their decisions or suggestions are not considered (Fanning, 1995). This has been used in the parent trap whereby, Nick, the twin father tries to explain to her daughter Annie what is expected from her without realizing the girl she is talking to is Hallie and not Anne. In the movie, the Parent Trap, different listening blocks have been used including the following threatening, moralizing, lecturing, Ineffective praising, pitying, shaming, interrogating, and denying. This impedes effective communication because people do not often express their real feelings. Listening blocks are things or factors that hinder us from listening to what others are saying.

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