Includes index.

Contents: The art of public speaking: What is public speaking? -- Why study public speaking? -- The communication process -- The rich heritage of public speaking -- Improving your confidence as a speaker -- Developing your first speech: Consider your audience -- Select and narrow your topic -- Determine your purpose -- Develop your central idea -- Generate the main ideas -- Gather supporting material -- Organize your speech -- Rehearse your speech -- Deliver your speech -- The boundaries of freedom of speech: Speaking freely -- Speaking ethically -- Speaking credibly -- Listening and critical thinking skills: Overcoming barriers to effective listening -- How to become a better listener -- Improving listening and critical thinking skills -- Analyzing and evaluating speeches -- Audience analysis: Gathering information about your audience -- Analyzing information about your audience -- Adapting to your audience -- Analyzing your audience before you speak -- Adapting to your audience as you speak -- Analyzing your audience after you speak -- Audience-centered speech building: Select and narrow your topic -- Determine your purpose -- Develop your central idea -- Generate and preview your main ideas -- Meanwhile, back at the computer -- The framework of speech: The supporting materials: Sources of supporting material -- Research strategies -- Types of supporting material -- The best supporting material -- Speech outlines and integration of supporting materials: Organizing your main ideas -- Integrating your supporting material -- Organizing your presentation for the ears of others: Signposting -- Outlining your speech -- Beginning and concluding your speech: Purposes of introductions -- Effective introductions -- Purposes of conclusions -- Effective conclusions -- Effective language for diverse listeners: Differentiating oral and written language styles using words effectively -- Adapting your language style to diverse listeners -- Crafting memorable word structures -- Strategies for the final delivery: The power of speech delivery -- Methods of delivery -- Characteristics of effective delivery -- Audience diversity and delivery -- Rehearsing your speech: Some final tips -- Delivering your speech -- Responding to questions -- Guidelines on presentation aids: The value of presentation aids -- Types of presentation aids -- Guideline for developing presentation aids -- Guidelines for using presentation aids -- The informative speech: Types of informative speeches -- Strategies to enhance audience understanding -- Strategies to maintain audience interest -- Strategies to enhance audience recall -- Developing an audience-centered informative speech -- The persuasive speech: The goals of persuasion -- How persuasion works -- How to motivate listeners -- How to develop your audience-centered persuasive speech -- Steps in persuasive communication: Enhancing your credibility -- Using logic and evidence to persuade -- Using emotion to persuade -- Strategies for adapting ideas to people and people to ideas -- Strategies for organizing persuasive messages -- Speaking with a purpose: Occasions and ceremonies: Public speaking in the workplace -- Ceremonial speaking -- After-dinner speaking: Using humor effectively -- Speaking in small groups: Solving problems in groups and teams -- Participating in small groups -- Leading small groups -- Speeches for analysis and discussion: I have a dream -- Second inaugural address -- Message, messenger, and audience.