On the basis of theoretical reflection and personal experience, this paper offers five guidelines for fostering dialogical learning experiences in consulting in the field of communication. After a discussion of the author's dialogical learning experiences in overcoming communication problems with his father, the paper provides these guidelines:…

In preparing urban teachers to become effective classroom communicators, urban speech teachers should involve their students in interpersonal communication within an intergroup context whenever possible. Students must be taught to become sensitive to word choice, aware of the importance of verbal and nonverbal codes, and more empathic. To…

A study tested a delivery skills method of instruction for reducing public speaking anxiety. Subjects were 59 male and 71 female undergraduates (ranging in age from 17-49) enrolled in a basic public speaking course at a midwestern university during the 1986-87 academic year. The Personal Report of Public Speaking Apprehension (PRPSA) which…

Introduces and comments on articles in this symposium issue. Contends that speech teachers have methods to overcome communication problems. Challenges them to sort their methods out, test and phrase them in clear language, document assertions from their own classroom investigations, and eventually build a theory to help people improve their…

To identify the communication activities and problems found in the world of work, the Communication Activity Questionnaire (CAQ) was developed and mailed to 500 recent graduates from professional and preprofessional colleges and departments of a midwestern university. The questionnaire requested the subjects to rate 17 communication activities in…

Reports on the results of a two-year study finding that college students' communication competence is linked to success in college, that high school communication experience is related to higher G.P.A., and that communication apprehension is related to perceptions of communication competence. Recommends replication employing a larger, more…

This guide for the speech curriculum includes three separate but interrelated sections: intercultural communication syllabuses, communication and social change/development syllabuses, and international communication syllabuses--media emphasis. Each section contains a number of syllabuses originally designed for various speech courses at schools in…

A study examined the relative effectiveness and synergistic effect of two treatments for reducing speech anxiety--Self-Statement Modification (SSM), a therapy focused on modification of cognitive behavior; and Modified Desensitization (MD), a therapy focused on physiological variables, utilizing relaxation training, group hierarchy construction,…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The seven titles deal with the following topics: (1) the effects of a seven-hour communication training program on participant utilization of six components of communication style; (2) communication skills and cognitive processes in…