Communication Research

Here is a brief public speaking exercise built around the theme of distinguishing two things. The main purpose of the exercise is to illustrate some principles of organization and can be used as a regular prepared/researched speech or as an impromptu speech. For this exercise, the speeches should be organized in either of these two ways. Organizational Patterns Introduction A basic orientation as to what will be discussed Body I.                      Item No. 1 (e.g., muffin) A.       Property No. 1 (e.g., ingredients) B.       Property No. 2 (e.g., appearance) C.       Property No. 3 (e.g., taste) II.                    Item No. 2 (e.g., cupcake) A.       Property No. 1 (e.g., ingredien...

Here�s an interesting article that I just ran across while researching trends in public speaking. Lisa B. Marshall identifies 7. I paraphrase these in brief but the article is worth reading especially if you�re teaching public speaking. 1.        Public speaking in the business world is becoming more casual. 2.        Audiences no longer can be viewed as passive recipients of a speaker�s message but are listeners who want to participate. 3.        Speakers are addressing smaller audiences with more focused presentations. 4.        Webinars are increasing but so are live presentations. 5.        Videos are being increasingly incorporated into public speaking presentations. 6.        Technology is playing an ever increasing role in public speaking. 7.        The white b...

The textbook as many of us have known it, it on the way out and the digital/widgetal textbook is in. Well, not exactly, just yet but it�s coming. This brief description of what�s happening may be of some value to those new to this type of textbook but also to those who intend to write a textbook as well as to students who want to know why the change is happening. All of the major publishers and a variety of smaller publishers are engaged in creating these interactive textbooks. They�re all betting that this is the wave of the future and will become standard in the not very distant future. The Digital/Widgetal Textbook A digital textbook is simply an e-book, a book that can be read on your computer, laptop, tablet, or phone. Except for the fact that it can be accessed electronically, the digital textbook is little different from a print book. A widgetal textbook (see glossary at the end of this post), on the other hand, is not only digital but interactive.  This interactivity is the...