Since its inception, The Elements of Speech Communication has been predicated on several beliefs about teaching and learning in communication. Good communication pedagogy combines insights gained from scholarship of all types as well as personal experience. Communication competence cannot be achieved by precept, it is a combination of understanding, sensitivity, skills, and ethical responsibility, and it is developed by a combination of theory, practice, and analysis. People understand and practice communication in many ways, and since the first edition of the book, the field of communication has expanded immensely its offering of useful concepts and ideas. This new edition has been affected by the growing literature in the field and by authors' expanding awareness of possibilities. Many of features that have always given The Elements of Speech Communication its character have been retained, so that the 'feel' of the book is about the same. Every chapter begins with a story or provocative allusion. Relevant photographs add interest and give pause for thought. And, of course, the image shifts, which have been unique to this book from its inception, still challenge students to look at the subject in new ways. To make the text easier the authors have added a complete glossary. A Collegiate Press book