Tribute is given to William Norwood Brigance, who for 38 years--until his death in January 1960--taught speech primarily at Wabash College, Indiana. In his accolade of Brigance, the author presents five reasons Brigance served his speech profession in a small liberal arts college: (1) he needed freedom to write his articles and textbooks, (2) he…

Developing a conference presentation involves both assembling and delivering the materials. In selecting a topic, speakers should consider their own prior knowledge and experience, the topic's interest and significance for them as well as for the audience, and the amount of information available. They can research materials on the chosen topic…

A study investigated whether there was a relationship between contestants' speaking position and their ranking and quality ratings by judges in forensics competitions. In addition, the study examined whether these relationships varied by type of event. Subjects were contestants from two- and four-year colleges in two tournaments held in…

Report writing, managing a business meeting, speeches, and business letters all involve communication skills. Maintaining a happy working environment while dealing with different types of people depends on effectively utilizing these skills. (MW)

The American space shuttle Challenger's explosion prompted a national grieving process typified by stages of shock, disbelief, acknowledgement, and finally recovery/adaptation. President Reagan's speech on the evening of the disaster assisted this process by integrating content and structure with the psychological needs of the audience. Reagan's…

A study explored the self-reported nonverbal stress behaviors perceived by men and women in management positions in both Japan and the United States who were required to give public speeches as part of their employment or daily lives. The sample included 136 subjects from the United States (60 males, 76 females) and 99 Japanese subjects (86 males,…

Zen, described as "a way of spiritual enlightenment," is learned by submitting to a discipline. The learner must select a course of study and find a master. The master serves as a role model; he does not impart wisdom but merely creates a ground in which the student can study the discipline and discover his "inner self." Many…

The current use of "informative and persuasive" speeches as public address types cannot be justified on functional grounds. The types of speeches chosen through which to gain adherence of minds are secondary to what it is that an individual wishes to gain adherence to. Specifically, the chosen thesis will determine the type of speeches…

This study examined the problem of a suspected decline in the number of schools offering courses in the coaching of high school and college forensics. A list of 127 schools offering graduate programs in the areas of rhetorical and communication theory, public address, and speech communication education was generated from the 1986-87…

A study investigated the effectiveness of subliminal techniques (such as tape recorded programs) for improving public speaking ability. It was hypothesized that students who used subliminal tapes to improve public speaking ability would perform no differently from classmates who listened to identical-sounding placebo tape programs containing no…

A study examined stages and objectives of a systematic desensitization (SD) program and its effects on subject reported apprehension levels and perceived benefits and behavior changes toward public speaking. Subjects, 19 freshmen and sophomore university students, were administered the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA-24).…

Teachers of public speaking need to provide the educational leadership necessary for students to become responsible for their presentational interaction. Several instructional practices can help students re-position themselves in what they do with their presentational interaction to make it meaningful. For example, teachers can respond to student…

The rhetorical functions of history depend on the domain in which history is used, with no connotations of interpretive priority attaching to the social or the academic realm. The appropriation of history in support of social causes as radically opposed as socialism and fascism fuels the temptation to subsume history under ideology, with the…

To account for how physical attractiveness or unattractiveness may have pervasive effects upon others' perceptions of an individual in a public speaking class, 26 male and 26 female speakers were rated by their classmates in terms of attractiveness and quality of speaking performance at the beginning and end of a ten-week quarter. In addition,…

There is a simple but effective process for developing public speakers in elementary and junior high schools. After discussing the importance of effective speaking, the teacher puts a topic sentence, on favorite desserts for example, on the board or overhead projector and students think of their favorite desserts and some related words and…