This crisply-written and time-tested introduction to public speaking text provides students with both the theoretical framework, based in the social sciences, for becoming more effective communicators and practical advice on how to accomplish this goal. Long a successful classroom tool, the eleventh edition enlists the insights provided by an eclectic range of disciplines and thinkers, from Cicero to the cognitive psychologists to the social constructionists. By making this abstract information accessible and usable, Ross shows students what they must do when they address an audience, how to make their speech better and more effective, and what are the ethical and logical considerations necessary to insure that the speech is accurate, fair-minded, and well-researched.