It’s About Them: Public Speaking in the 21st Century

Reviewed by Evan Fiedler, Adjunct Faculty, Tidewater Community College on 4/13/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The chapters cover appropriate subjects for this very complex skill. It is very clever organization; first and foremost identifying your audience and the importance of listening are addressed. Each chapter includes a list of key terms and there is a glossary at the end of the book.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is very-organized, logical, well-written, and unbiased. Several different references are utilized and in APA format.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The contributors of this text are in-touch with the process of making content current. Here is a list of changes that were stated in the 'Adaptations' section (including 'Old References were updated with current ones');
• Images were added and replaced to reflect a diverse and inclusive audience.
• Supplementary videos were added to some sections.
• H5P activities/multimedia were inserted into sections to reinforce concepts.
• The glossary section was expanded to include more vocabulary.
• Chapters were reordered

Clarity rating: 5

The content is very impressive, there are diagrams, images, and thought-provoking questions to facilitate understanding and engage the readers.

Consistency rating: 5

The format is consistent throughout the book. Each chapter shares a list of Learning Objectives and Key Terms. In addition, there are key points repeated from the content inserted into individual text boxes. It is a very clever approach to help the reader recall and focus on the main concepts.

Modularity rating: 5

The chapters are divided into subsections and labeled in the Table of Contents (at the beginning of the book). It is feasible to assign subsections as opposed to entire chapters to students.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The logical presentation of these topics is excellent. As shared previously, you begin by identifying your audience and learn listening skills, and then progress into researching your speech topic, building arguments, and organizing and outlining before studying the delivery of the speech.

Interface rating: 5

The textbook links the Table of Contents to each chapter and subsection. The only recommendation would be linking the bold key terms in the context to the glossary (I realize this takes quite a bit of time to link each individual word).

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There no overtly apparent grammatical errors. In addition, the textbook is written in understandable language, facilitating interpretation of the meaning of the content.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The contributors have made an intentional effort in this textbook to recognize and value diversity (in all aspects).

I think this book is more than a must-read for the dual-enrollment student (as intended); it is a powerful tool for the educator to improve their pedagogy. I can't speak for my peers, but I know for myself every class is a new adventure that requires innovative and effective communication to succeed in our role. Thank you for publishing this excellent resource.