Product Description

Equips students with a firm grounding in the "how's" and "why's" of public speaking by providing an ideal balance of theory and skills while placing an important emphasis on critiquing, ethics, and critical thinking. Written in a casual, lively style and clearly organized, this edition of Mastering Public Speaking builds on its previous success. The Fifth Edition retains its popular and distinctive emphasis on the ethical contract between speaker and listener and on the value of critiquing speeches to improve one's own skills. Students also learn how to think critically as they choose speech topics, conduct research, organize content, select language, manage nervousness, and deliver speeches. The Fifth Edition features a heightened emphasis on the role of new technology in the public speaking process and shows students how to effectively use the latest in technology to research and deliver speeches. Full of student examples from both two- and four-year schools, Mastering Public Speaking adds interest and relevance to all aspects of the speech-making process.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #600835 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

From the Back Cover
Student Edition

Get the most out of your textbook experience and visit the Companion Website Plus to accompany Grice & Skinner's Mastering Public Speaking, 5th Edition at ablongman/grice5e.

Your final course grade will thank you!

Student Supplements...

* Mastering Public Speaking Student CD-ROM
* Mastering Public Speaking Study Guide
* Companion Website Plus with Practice Tests (ablongman/grice5e)
* VideoWorkshop for Public Speaking Student Learning Guide with CD-ROM
* iSearch with Research Navigator for Speech Communication
* Public Speaking Tutor
* Allyn & Bacon Great Speeches DVD
* Preparing Visual Aids for Presentations, Third Edition
* Speech Preparation Workbook
* Public Speaking in the Multicultural Environment, Second Edition
* Outlining Workbook
* Allyn & Bacon Public Speaking Website (ablongman/pubspeak)
* Interactive Speechwriter Software, Version 1.1
* Speech Writer's Workshop CD-ROM, Version 2.0

Instructor's Edition

It's time to provide the ultimate learning experience with Grice & Skinner's Mastering Public Speaking, 5th Edition using these fabulous resources and more...

Print Supplements

* Instructor's Manual and Test Bank with Teaching Tool
* VideoWorkshop for Public Speaking Instructor's Teaching Guide with CD-ROM
* A Guide for New Public Speaking Teachers, Second Edition
* ESL Guide for Public Speaking
* Allyn & Bacon Public Speaking Transparency Package
* Great Ideas for Teaching Speech, Third Edition

Electronic Supplements
* TestGen EQ: Computerized Testing Program
* PowerPoint Presentation for Mastering Public Speaking, 5/e
* Allyn & Bacon PowerPoint Presentation for Public Speaking
* Allyn & Bacon Digital Media Archive for Communication, Version 2.0
* CourseCompass for Public Speaking Professional Development Edition

Video Offerings

* Allyn & Bacon Communication Video Library
* Allyn & Bacon Great Speeches DVD
* Allyn & Bacon Public Speaking Key Topics Video Library
* Allyn & Bacon Public Speaking Video
* Allyn & Bacon Student Speeches Video Library
* Mastering Public Speaking Video: A Speech with Critiques

Available For Your Students...

* Mastering Public Speaking Student CD-ROM
* Mastering Public Speaking Study Guide
* Companion Website Plus with Online Practice Tests (ablongman/grice5e)
* iSearch with Research Navigator for Speech Communication
* VideoWorkshop for Public Speaking Student Learning Guide with CD-ROM
* Public Speaking Tutor
* Preparing Visual Aids for Presentations, Third Edition
* Speech Preparation Workbook
* Outlining Workbook

For a complete listing of available supplements and related titles, visit our online catalog at ablongman/communication.

Customer Reviews

Very nice
The book is very informative. It has cheatsheets printed on the back cover. There is also information to help you with your first speech because the author realized that speeches would be prepared before the student could finish reading the book.

Disappointing
I'd considered buying this book from Amazon, and decided to first examine a copy at the Boston Public Library. I was unimpressed. The tone seems aimed at middle-school students, and the text is littered with patronizing "Dick & Jane" anecdotes. A quick glance through the table of contents suggests that Grice and Skinner address nearly every conceivable aspect of public speaking -- but a closer examination reveals a complete lack of depth. It seems as if they simply brainstormed ways to add pages without actually investigating their subject.

The most derelict example I found was the second chapter, devoted entirely to a discussion of ethics. This chapter includes a section on plagiarism, where Grice and Skinner define plagiarism and warn students that getting caught may result in failing a class or being expelled from school -- hardly the sort of information you'd expect from a college-level textbook. Meanwhile, Grice and Skinner lazily sidestep the most challenging issue -- the employment of speechwriters -- by confining its mention to a brief, rhetorical question among the chapter-end exercises. In other words: "Here's a complex issue. We've exhausted our space with rudimentary ones, but we encourage you to do some real work on your own!"

There are some informative, useful books on public speaking. Richard Dowis and James Humes have each written excellent books on crafting and delivering a speech. Virgil Anderson and Ann Utterback have written valuable books on training your voice, and Livingston Taylor and Keith Johnstone have written classics on stage performance. My suggestion is to skip this book. I was thoroughly disappointed with its lack of ambition, and I'd hate to be stuck with a professor who found it respectable.

Mediocre text
I had to use this book for a public speaking class and found it to be quite tiring to get through. Its few good ideas and suggestions are easily lost within its high-school approach and broad conjectures about communication.