Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach (4th Edition)

This top-selling public speaking text continues to be an excellent choice for introductory public speaking courses in both 2- and 4-year colleges and universities. Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach serves as a foundation in speechmaking as it guides students through every step of the process and narrows the gap between the classroom and the real world.

Its distinctive and popular audience-centered approach emphasizes the importance of analyzing and considering the audience at every point along the way, with marginal icons highlighting passages that address audience-related issues. Numerous examples, excerpts, and sample speeches support the instruction, while recap boxes and end-of-chapter activities reinforce and extend the lessons of the text.

Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach brings theory and practice together in an understandable and applicable manner. Its distinctive and popular approach emphasizes the importance of analyzing and considering the audience at every point along the way, with marginal icons highlighting audience-related discussions. This model of public speaking serves as a foundation as the text guides students through the step-by-step process of public speaking, focuses their attention on the importance and dynamics of diverse audiences, and narrows the gap between the classroom and the real world.

New and Exciting Features

• A “talking” version of the Audience-Centered Speech-Making Wheel appears on the inside front cover for easy reference.
• Expanded coverage of speaking with confidence, including applications of the latest communication research with concrete suggestions to help students better manage speaker anxiety and communication apprehension, has been moved to Chapter 1 to encourage speaking with confidence right from the start.
• “Developing Your Speech Step-by-Step” boxes provide a model for students as they work on their own speeches. Students follow the steps of a successful student speaker as she works through the speech-making process.
• “Great Speakers” boxes feature profiles and photos of contemporary and classic speakers. Students see how speech-making techniques have worked for the experts.
• Coverage of editing a speech has been added to Chapter 11.
• A new section providing strategies for responding to questions during a speech has been added to Chapter 13.
• MySpeechLab (www.myspeechlab.com) is a state-of-the-art, interactive and instructive solution for introductory public speaking and accompanies the new 6th Edition of Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach. Designed to be used as a supplement to a traditional lecture course, or to completely administer an online course, MySpeechLab combines an E-book, multimedia, video clips, speech preparation activities, research support, tests and quizzes to completely engage students.
• Video clips, available on MySpeechLab for sample speeches featured in the text, allow students to see and hear the model speeches.

Praise for Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach

“I have seen a number of speech textbooks in my teaching career. I think the Beebe and Beebe text is one of the best on the market. There is a good theory base and practical, hands-on examples for students to use.”

“The students have said to me that they're glad there isn't a lot of 'dry, boring stuff' in the text. Little do they know, but the 'theory stuff' is in there, but it isn't dry and boring. ”
Ann Marie Jablonowski, Owens Community College

“I love the information on classical rhetoric-where was this information when I needed it?-so clear, so concise and so organized. ”
Linda Kurz, University of Missouri- Kansas City

“Your book does a great job of explaining the theory and then giving practical examples of how to apply it. ”
Cara Schollenberger, Bucks Country Community College

“Kudos to Beebe and Beebe for including the various aspects of culture such as individualistic and collectivistic.…”
Carla J. Harrell, Old Dominion University