Weaver Award winning speech communication instructor Craig Streff believes the most important goals of his interpersonal communication instruction are a strong cognitive and affective base, without which practical interpersonal skills are not likely to be developed. Given this overview, what he considers to be the most significant points of the…

Outlines a model (SUCCESS) for an approach to teaching presentational speaking that deals with the basics of speech communication, the speaker's development of the main ideas presented, providing feedback on the speaker's ability to prepare and use visual aids, and an opportunity to comment on the more general aspects of the speaker's…

For those researchers who are also concerned with the quality of their teaching, this article describes a procedure for incorporating students as part of a research team and illustrates this procedure with a study designed to analyze conflict in interpersonal relationships. (PD)

Delineating the content that must be covered in the secondary schools of the State of Idaho, this guide presents a course of study for a full-semester course designed to help students better understand the complexities of the communication process and succeed in a world of interaction. Although educators sometimes use the terms interchangeably,…

Twenty years of research in interpersonal communication have provided teachers with a basis for identifying the competencies that should be taught in introductory interpersonal communication courses, including empathy, social composure, and conflict management. However, other issues such as "performance vs. knowledge," the affective dimension, and…

The encoding and decoding of verbal and nonverbal cues is basic to the process of social interaction. A method of teaching about verbal and nonverbal communication--the Interpersonal Perception Task (IPT)--consists of a videotape divided into 30 brief scenes. After each scene viewers answer an interpretive question by decoding the verbal and…

This paper explores some possible methodologies and approaches to the teaching of empathic listening, an essential component of human communication and listening competency. It defines empathic listening as "feeling with" another: a cognitive understanding of what the other is communicating plus a sensitivity to their state of emotion.…

Describes a behavioral approach to interpersonal communication instruction that helps students develop competencies relevant to social interaction through analysis, practice, implementation, and evaluation. (PD)

Empathic listening is central to almost all human communication processes. "Feeling with" another is the heart of empathic listening: it includes a cognitive understanding of what the other is communicating plus a sensitivity to their state of emotion. One possible approach to utilize in the teaching of empathic listening is to begin a…

Values can and should be a part of small group communication instruction. Discourse is value laden and to understand the communication process, the role of values must be understood. Many students come to the classroom not understanding values, and not being aware of the role of values in decision-making. Their lack of understanding requires that…

The large section approach to speech communication instruction can be viewed as an opportunity rather than a detriment to effective communication education. Instructional strategies should be considered and applied appropriately to this ever-increasing instructional format. A number of principles may be generated which will lead to effectiveness…

Communication is essential to the establishment and maintenance of a democracy. Democratic society is distinctive in that civic talk plays a determining role. A long tradition of civic talk exists in western democratic civilization. The Greek teacher, Protagoras, the Father of Debate, required his students to speak first on one side of an issue or…

Designed to guide teachers in selecting classroom materials for introductory high school or college courses in interpersonal communication, this annotated bibliography lists and describes 20 general texts and instructional resource materials on the subject. Texts, most of which include instructors' manuals, range in date of publication from 1984…

Efforts by Christian colleges to integrate faith and learning in communication courses through conscious and direct planning are based on several questionable assumptions: that faith must be learned through the intellect, that all evangelical Christians share the same theological roots, and that interpersonal communication can be taught like any…

Providing insight into how learning assistance practitioners can effect positive change in the ability of their students to speak and to listen, this book presents the experiences of communication professionals who have succeeded in improving students' skills. The first five chapters describe a variety of instructional methods useful in teaching…