"Achieving Dialog," a model course in one-to-one communication for close relationships, is described and presented as a possible new course for the speech communication curriculum of colleges and universities. Research findings from a comprehensive evaluation of the course are summarized, and the societal need for such a course is…

Intended for professionals who wish to improve their confidence as well as their ability to speak and write clearly, this book contains practical information about effective communication. The first section of the book discusses the techniques of persuasive public speaking, including ways to break the ice, formal speeches, presentations, other…

In 1965, transcripts were collected of 72 sermons on the issue of racial integration preached between 1955 and 1965. The sermons, all given by Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, or Episcopal ministers in the southern United States, were examined to determine the position advocated by the minister. The sermons deemed segregationist were then…

According to an attribution analysis, changing one's opinion toward the position advocated in a persuasive message is an outcome of one's inferences concerning why the communicator has taken the position. A study was undertaken to clarify the cognitive steps by which recipients went from information about communicator characteristics or…

A model was developed to identify the communicative tasks that are most likely to facilitate successful consultation. Three distinctive features of process consultation were considered important to the model: the focus on the human element of the system, joint diagnosis between consultant and client, and the passing on of diagnostic skill. To…

Noting that identifying and inferring cause and effect relationships is critical to the receptive language use of both listeners and readers, this paper describes the various constructions used to express cause and effect and discusses the problems in comprehending them. Various sections of the paper discuss (1) the form of cause and effect…

Instituting a technical writing course for the first time can be difficult. English department members are apt to approach the idea with reluctance and apprehension while those in other departments tend to think of it with idealized ignorance. A public relations effort is necessary; however, such an effort involves information, persuasion, and…

Teaching writing on the basis of purposes has certain advantages over teaching on the basis of techniques. The primary advantage is the greater resemblance to "real writing." Most student writing is apprentice work, as students themselves know, but it is far easier to point to nonacademic analogues of the categories of purpose (definition,…

Using some of the tools of fantasy theme analysis, this paper analyzes the rhetoric of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy during the United States Civil War, as an expression of the rhetorical visions of the American South. Specifically, the paper deals with two speeches--Davis's farewell to the United States Senate, from which he…

Just as strong limbs do not ensure self-defense in an age of modern warfare, so strong persuasive appeals do not ensure self-defense in an age of highly technologized communication systems. The fragmentation of the audience, the inherent loss of credibility associated with the decreased status of rhetoric, and the competition among messages all…

This study examines the following question: Under what circumstances, for what purposes, and in what forms does the head of the state and federal liaison services of the intermediate administrative unit studied employ rhetorical strategies to gain compliance from his associates? This document presents information on the justification for the…

This paper gives an overview of the legal environment of advertising as it is influenced by the Supreme Court and by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and provides some clues as to what advertisers might expect in that environment in the future. Using a thematic approach to examine the current FTC and judicial system views of advertising as a…

A study was conducted to test the reliability of a college English teacher's criteria for grading papers of argumentative prose. Information was sought regarding the relation of marginal and end-of-paper comments to the grade itself, as well as of the ability of multiple regression analysis to express the relationship of the individual and…

Rhetoric is capable of producing preceptions which observed reality does not reveal to us. Because of rhetoric's reifying powers (that is, its ability to make abstractions concrete), it has been depended upon to make certain societal values come to life. In opposition to Jacques Ellul, an articulate exponent of the view that finds no existential…

Formality in rhetorical delivery can be defined as a complex variable that represents the speaker's efforts to invoke sociocultural rules of audience control through the nonverbal components of the delivery. This document describes some of the aspects of formality, outlines its significance in rhetorical contexts, and evaluates the concept in…