Communication: Principles for a Lifetime, 3rd Edition

by Steven A. Beebe, Diana K. Ivy, Susan J. Beebe

Overview Volume 4 of Principles for a Lifetime, Portable Edition presents classic content to help you design and deliver a speech, utilizing the five communication principles which serve as a framework for this Be aware of your communication with yourself and others. Effectively use and interpret verbal messages. Effectively use and interpret nonverbal messages. Listen and respond thoughtfully to others. Appropriately adapt messages to others. The authors' popular audience-centered approach to developing a presentation emphasizes the importance of adapting to listeners while also being an ethical communicator. This volume includes information and tips for developing presentation ideas, organizing and outlining messages, delivering a presentation, crafting effective informative presentations, and developing ethically sound persuasive messages. The appendices offer helpful information on the use of technology in giving presentations and provide examples of recent presentations to illustrate what effective, well-planned presentations look like.

Genres: Textbooks, School, Education

483 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2000

Reviews

[Caleb Meyers · Rating 2 out of 5]

1 on weight, 0 on logic, 1 on style, 2 on research, 0 on affections: 4 out of 10. I was required to read this book for a college course I took. This book was too liberal. It promoted self-esteem while blasting its readers for not knowing how to speak. It defended Sodomy, which was absolutely terrible. The research was well-done and the style was fairly engaging. Although I could tell the book was aimed largely at an audience that loved technology and was not accustomed to reading serious literature. The sections on giving a speech actually were quite helpful (but they were large enough). The course itself took way too long getting to giving speeches, and this was reflected in the book.

[Jimyanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is certainly a pretty good textbook set for a communication class, and for volumes 1,2 and 4 I have little to complain about. Volume three, however, (Communicating in Groups and Teams) is FAR too enthusiatic about the value of group work. Granted, sometimes it is inevitable that we must work in groups, either because a project is too large for one person to do it well within the time available (a perfectly reasonable reason) or just because whatever company we work for requires it, no matter how pointless (unreasonable, but frequently unavoidable.) But to claim, as this book does, that groups invariably produce better work than individuals (as long as they follow the book's recommendations for how to communicate effectively, of course) is, quite frankly, to perpetuate a very popular lie.

There are doubtless times that it's true that a group produces better results than any individual comprising it could have done; this is true if each of the group members are relatively evenly matched for talent (or even if some of them are) and especially if they have different areas of expertise, all necessary to the group function.

But generally, if there is one highly-competent member of a group, that member will carry the group, and could have done a better job doing everything him/herself, given enough time. This is true no matter HOW effective the group is at communication. But this truth is unpopular with the many mediocre group members who would be rendered superfluous by an acknowledgement of its truth, to say nothing of the competent individuals who wouldn't be able to shift some of the work to their less-competent peers. So generally, everybody pretends to believe that group work is useful and productive, in order to avoid overworking the top people and leaving everybody else unemployed. Understandable, but still a lie, no matter how popular the lie.Given how popular the lie is, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised to see it boldly asserted yet again (which is why I only docked the book one star for it) but it is annoying.

[M Hakim]

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[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

My textbook for my last class to obtain my Associates Degree. Finals here I come!