Mastering Public Speaking equips students with a firm grounding in the “hows” and “whys” of public speaking by providing an ideal balance of theory and skills while placing important emphases on critiquing, ethics, and critical thinking.

Written in a casual, lively style and clearly organized, the Eighth Edition of Mastering Public Speaking builds on its previous success. The first public speaking book to devote an entire chapter to ethics, the Eighth Edition continues its popular and distinctive emphasis on the ethical contract between speaker and listener.

Teaching & Learning Experience



Personalize Learning—MySpeechLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals. With tools such as MediaShare (our video upload and commenting tool), MyOutline, and self-assessments in MyPersonalityProfile, MySpeechLab works with students and instructors to personalize the learning experience and make it more effective.
Improve Skill Development and Application— “Key Points” boxes, chapter outlines, marginal glossary entries, and bulleted chapter summaries reinforce instruction and aid student review. “Theory into Practice” (TIP) features in every chapter help students understand and apply concepts and strategies of public communication to enhance their speaking competence.
Engage Students— “Speaking with Confidence” features throughout the Eighth Edition have students explain in their own words how various aspects of the speech process help build confidence. Furthermore, the Eighth Edition of Mastering Public Speaking is more streamlined and user-friendly, has more bulleted lists and new bulleted summaries that make it easier for you to find the chapter content you are looking for, and is formatted in a smaller trim size that makes it easier to carry and use in class.
ExploreExamples of a diversity of speakers and occasions: student and professional speakers; classroom and contest student speeches; speeches by two-year, four-year, and graduate school students; informative, persuasive, and special occasion speeches (Ch. 15, 17, 18 & Appendix).
Emphasize Learning Outcomes – Learning outcomes appear on the chapter-opening spread and correspond to the important concepts covered in each chapter. Additionally, online tools in MySpeechLab, such as MediaShare, provide a strong assessment tool for measuring students’ mastery of your course’s learning outcomes through their speeches.
Understand Theory and Research – The Eighth Edition provides a current guide to student research using databases, academic search engines, and Internet sources, with an updated emphasis on how to evaluate Internet sites and a new discussion of the use of Wikipedia. In addition, two solid chapters on persuasion highlight persuasive theory and application and types of argument, and include a discussion of logical fallacies. Students also can access Pearson’s MySearchLab where students can get extensive help on the research process as well as can access four databases of credible and reliable source material (for details, please see www.mysearchlab.com ). MySearchLab also contains an AutoCite feature that assists students in the creation of a Works Cited document (using APA, MLA, or Chicago formats), as well as Pearson’s SourceCheck, which encourages students to accurately document and cite their sources.
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