By Patricia Andrews, James
Andrews, and Glen Williams
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998
Reviewer: Denise
Elmer
North Dakota State University
Odds of finding continuous pages of alpha characters within this standard-topic approach to public speaking are slender; instead the text's glossy cover stick-figure graphics hint at the World Wide Web-style contents to be discovered on each page. Designed in a multitasking Windows style, chapter contents are broken up with large and small pedagogy boxes, assorted arresting colors, familiar comic strip figures, real-life photographs, and self-development charts and checklists. However for the visually impaired the light gold-colored and mint-colored lettering are exceedingly difficult to read. The subject matter is typical fare for a public speaking textbook: Beginning with the communication process, the chapters traipse through listening effectively, controlling communication apprehension, choosing topics, analyzing audiences, researching topics, outlining speeches, using presentational aids, and delivering effective speeches, concluding with group presentations.
The systematic WWW design of this book is most appealing to three of four Kolb learning styles: convergers, divergers, and assimilators. Convergers will find the Spotlight sections helpful as they focus on real life application of public speaking techniques. Divergers will enjoy the Learning Objectives, Keep In Mind boxes and Examples as they explain why public speaking is needed. Assimilators will tend to rely on the Figure boxes that outline methods. If used in class discussions Accommodators will find the Summary and Questions for Review and Reflection engaging.
The authors' stated purpose is to "help students to become the best public speakers they can be." To do so students are encouraged to become involved in the speech development process by critiquing videos that contrast poorly done and well done speeches; or observing interviews of students and professors working on components of the speech process such as communication apprehension or audience analysis. Example video clips can be found at the Houghton Mifflin College Division web site (http://www.hmco.com/college/communication/aaw). Other pedagogy techniques include student reflections recorded in journals and sample speeches that can be dissected and compared to text principles. However there is little emphasis on actually delivering a speech to fellow classmates, which should be one of the ultimate purposes of taking a public speaking class (unless that type of activity is included in the Instructor's Manual, which is unavailable for preview at the publisher's web site).
Leadership principles of small group communication are the last topic of the text. This is the approach usually used by public speaking authors. This has always struck me as peculiar when one considers that classrooms are small groups and in-class work groups often consist of dyads and groups of three to five students charged with completing a task either in class or for the next scheduled meeting. A more useful approach is to provide students with small group leadership principles and skills prior to beginning frequent small group work. As public speaking classes are not the only college class to use small group work, and when one considers that many public speaking students are in their first year of college, covering leadership skills with the communication process and listening effectively makes more sense.
The real-photo examples for the visual aid chapter are disappointing role models. Visual aids "help clarify, support, and/or strengthen the verbal content of a speech" (p. 217), and this is best accomplished by use of a different symbol system: i.e. pictures, diagrams, graphs or charts (Sellnow, 1998), yet the majority of pictured aids are lists of words. While outlines and lists help students take notes they add little interest, color, or "abstract concept concreteness" to a prepared speech in which the audience is simply listening (Sellnow, 1998). If, as according to the text, listener retention increases 43 percent more with presentational aids, let the text's example visuals be accurate models to follow. Instructors may want to supplement this chapter with suggestions from a web site (http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/Effective%20visuals/VisStrt.html) deigned by Jeff Radel, Ph.D. and Carol Massoth of University of Kansas Medical Center. This site provides practical details such as font size or how to judge if a graphic is large enough which many students will find helpful when developing their first presentational aid.