Essential Communication - Softcover

Adler, Ronald; Rodman, George; Du Pre, Athena

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199342369 ISBN 13: 9780199342365

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2015

Synopsis

Concise, compact, and visually exciting, Essential Communication is a fresh approach to human communication. Written by renowned author team Ron Adler, George Rodman, and Athena du Pré, the text more accurately reflects the way that today's students communicate yet still includes more substantive content than other brief books on the market. Filled with skills-oriented concepts and learning objectives, Essential Communication is salient, practical, and engaging.

KEY FEATURES
* A perfect balance of scholarship and practicality in a format that is comprehensive yet concise
* The most comprehensive and practical coverage of issues affecting communication in contemporary life-like social media, ethics, culture, and professionalism-in multiple contexts
* Early, integrated, and effective coverage of public speaking that encourages students to be more confident and effective communicators earlier in the course
* Superior ancillary materials, including an Annotated Instructor's Edition for professors and Dashboard, a reliable and easy-to-use online homework system for students, make it easy for anyone to use this text
* Three concise chapters devoted to interpersonal communication (Chapters 7-9) reflect the increased emphasis in this course on communication in relationships with friends, family members, and romantic partners
* An entire chapter devoted to the practical essentials of communicating for success in the workplace (Chapter 10) takes students step-by-step through the process of finding, getting, and keeping a job and communicating successfully with bosses, employees, and coworkers
* Contemporary photos and captions highlight popular movies, television shows, and pop culture, prompting students to think critically about their own communication
* Questions in the margins prompt students to think critically about the essential concepts in each major section

About this title

About the Author:

Ronald B. Adler is Professor Emeritus of Communication at Santa Barbara City College. He is author of Interplay, Twelfth Edition (OUP 2013), Looking Out, Looking In, and Communicating at Work: Principles and Practices for Business and the Professions. In addition to his academic pursuits, Ron works with businesses and nonprofit agencies to improve communication among coworkers as well as with clients and the public.

George Rodman is Professor of Mass Communication at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, where he founded the television writing program. He is author of Mass Media in a Changing World and Making Sense of Media.

Athena du Pré is Distinguished University Professor of Communication and Director of the Strategic Communication and Leadership master's degree program and the Health Communication Leadership graduate-level certificate program at the University of West Florida. She is the author of Communicating About Health: Current Issues and Perspectives, Fourth Edition (OUP 2014) and co-author of Understanding Human Communication (OUP 2014).

Review:

"Everything that I've been searching for to motivate my students more!"--Frederick Shorter, Bainbridge College

"I have wanted something like this for a long time. In an age of information overload, this is fabulous. This is modern. The combination of the persuasive and informative chapters is the best textbook idea I've heard in ages. It makes so much sense!"--Nancy J. Willets, Cape Cod Community College

"I appreciate that a need for improvement in connecting with our students has been recognized. This book would be a good fit for my students because it is affordable and an investment in absorbing the essential need to understand human communication. I teach my students that it is not just a course, but a life course that only serves to benefit them."--James Keller, Lone Star College

"The organization is strong, as is the inclusion of a chapter dealing with the mediated world. This is such a factor in student learning, and they need to recognize the pitfalls and strengths of growing as students in a sound-byte-information age."-Erin Perry, NHTI, Concord's Community College

"Essential Communication is just that--the essentials of human communication. It covers the basics of communication with an emphasis on interpersonal processes rather than public speaking. There are in-text questionnaires and discussion prompts that would make journaling and in-class discussions interesting."--Laura Beth Daws, Southern Polytechnic State University

"A refreshingly modern introductory course for communication that maintains the classic fundamentals without diminishing the integrity of the discipline."--Paige C. Davis, Lone Star College, Cyfair

"This new textbook is attempting to boil the textual component of the survey course down to its most essential components. This produces a distilled, practical application focused text that will give the students what they need while saving them time and money."--Steve A. Stuglin, Georgia Highlands College

"This is a student friendly book, that is affordable and covers all information needed in an Oral Communication course. This text is well researched and written for an entry level communication course. There is great depth to each topic covered."--Kim G. Smith, Bishop State Community College

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0199342369
• ISBN 13: 9780199342365
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 448