Strategic Public Speaking A Handbook

Summary: Handbook for Public Speaking: Strategies for Success David Zarefsky,Northwestern University An adaptation ofPublic Speaking: Strategies for Success, 4/e, this handbook offers students a valuable, accessible reference tool to guide them as they learn how to develop and apply strategies to speaking situations they will encounter throughout their lives. David Zarefsky, one of today's leading scholars in speech communica...tion, encourages students to think through and about the public speaking process. Zarefsky urges students to consider the diversity of audiences, occasions, and speakers and to choose a specific purpose, a relevant topic, and the appropriate material to make their speeches successful. Features Tabs divide the book into sections; each tab contains the list of chapters on the front of the tab and some key points from the chapter on the back of the tab. These tabs aid in the students' navigation through the text and add to its aesthetic appeal. Theemphasis on strategic thinkingthroughout the text shows students that public speaking is about choices; they will learn that presenting is an art and not a science. Features to support this strategic emphasis include: "Choose a Strategy,"which presentscase studiesrequiring students to decide how the skills and concepts in the text could be adapted to a concrete rhetorical situation. "Applying Strategies,"which feature helpful tips that guide students in utilizing what they have learned to develop their own public speaking skills. "Strategies for Speaking to Diverse Audiences"boxes, providing students with helpful information to prepare them for speaking to audiences from a variety of backgrounds. Full ofexamples and case studies, this text also draws on the underlying theory to enable students to develop a better understanding of the speech preparation process-one that they can apply to the variety of speaking situations they will encounter throughout their lives. Complete coverage of thefirst speech in Chapter 1provides students early on with an overview of the public speaking process and simple guidelines for putting together their first speech. Praise forHandbook for Public Speaking "This is a most complete and accessible text, emphasizing critical thinking and context and rhetorical situation at least as much as the mechanics of researching, designing, and presenting effective speeches. A good, complete, solid textbook. Required reading." ~ Gary J. Richmond,LaGuardiaCommunity College of the City University of New York [read more]