Public Speaking: Prepare, Present, Participate’s provides a "reader-friendly" style and length that is easy to comprehend. Special Themes within the book include an emphasis on media literacy, critical thinking and additional skills on becoming an effective communicator.
This new entry into the public speaking market covers traditional topics of public speaking that include: audience analysis, research, organizing and outlining, speech presentation, and types of speeches. Highlights within the book include using analytical skills to become effective producers and consumers of information and communication competence, in addition to using knowledge, skill, motivation, and judgment abilities to increase effective communication skils that demonstrate ethical communication and consideration for multiple perspectives on a controversial issues.
This new book is based on a comprehensive, award-winning introductory public speaking course that was developed by the authors at Illinois State University for the 2008 NCA Program of Excellence.
Some of the book's highlighted features include:
- Preparing to Participate boxes appear throughout the book, reinforcing the reader's content knowledge of the chapter and then asking them to apply and extend the content to their own experiences.
- Critical Interaction boxes in each chapter provide readers with opportunities to actively engage in critical thinking exercises that enhance their understanding of key concepts.
- Media Interaction boxes appear several times in each chapter and asks the reader to critically reflect on the messages they've consumed in the media and how these messages apply to the books concepts. These opportunities allow the readers to engage in critical thinking as well as enhance their information literacy skills.
- Learning Objectives display the knowledge and skills readers will obtain as they read through each chapter.
- Comic Strips with discussion prompts help the reader make additional connections between the book's concepts and public speaking applications.
- Key Terms are listed at the end of the chapters for review purposes, and Additional Engagement Opportunities further enhance reader's critical thinking.
- Opening Quotations set the mood for the concepts to be covered in each chapter, while Chapter Summaries provide the highpoints of key concepts covered in each chapter.
- Sample Speech Outlines appear in the appendix and are fully integrated with examples throughout the book.
