Key Features

• Traditional organization matches most course syllabi, making transitions from currently assigned texts simple and straightforward.
• Friendly and informal tone, as reflected in chapter titles, plus abundant visual illustrations of concepts appeal to students of all ages.
• Connects with “digital native” learners accustomed to receiving information in brief bites.
• Students begin with the more easily grasped “mechanics” of short speech segments as they learn one part of a speech at a time (introduction, conclusion, main points, transitions, etc.).
• Concrete tasks precede abstract concepts, so students build confidence and gain familiarity with excellent practices before tackling tasks such as audience analysis and topic selection.
• Small group exercises throughout the text build peer support and reduce speech anxiety.
• Three master rubrics—for the written outline, speech content, and speech delivery—appear throughout the text as a constant baseline to guide students’ step-by-step progress through the checklists provided in the rubrics.
• With the rubrics, students know exactly what is expected of them and feel less anxiety, while faculty can better provide quick, thorough, and consistent feedback.
• By breaking down speech components and providing rubrics, the inductive approach adapts readily and effectively to online courses and facilitates teaching by graduate assistants.
• Supportive learning structure includes:
  • Pertinent portion of the applicable grading rubric as an overview for the material covered in the following chapter
  • Learning Objectives organized by main section to preview that section’s key concepts
  • Key Takeaways at the end of every main section that summarize that section’s key concepts
  • Exercises at the end of every main section to guide students on how to apply what they have just learned
  • Incorporates model introductions, model conclusions, model outlines, models for other speech components, and templates and worksheets for class exercises.
• Appendices to several early chapters feature author-annotated versions of model speeches that develop students' ability to critically analyze their own speeches.
• Access to FlatWorld Homework is complimentary with every purchase of FlatWorld’s online reader. Features a video-uploading tool that enables students to record and share recorded speeches within a secure grading environment. Integrated grading rubrics drawn from the book can be customized or fully new rubrics can be uploaded by adopters.