Speaking Out

Learning to feel comfortable with public speaking has a tremendously positive impact on students' school and future career success. In this long-awaited second edition of his introductory text for high school or college, Michael Gallagher emphasizes speaking both as a life skill and as a preliminary exploration of competitive Speech and Debate events.

The comprehensive, student-friendly guide to public speaking and debate is divided into two parts-the 183-page textbook written specifically for the student and this separate Teacher's Guide with the author's notes to the teacher appearing next to the corresponding student pages. The 81/2" x 11" format for the Teacher's Guide provides plenty of blank space for teachers to add their own notes and lesson plans and also allows the two dozen reproducible student handouts to be full-size.

The second edition of the classroom text includes a new, highly relevant section that addresses speaking across differences in our complicated world. This insightful chapter addresses both individual differences and communities in conflict, offering specific strategies to find common ground.

The other five sections of the book-Getting Started, The Basics, Competitive Public Speaking Events, Debate, and Activities to Hone Your Skills-are comprised of 30 chapters that introduce students to all aspects of public speaking and include exercises and activities to make learning more effective across a broad array of topics:

- Ice breakers to get students speaking in front of a class

- Fundamentals such as nonverbal communication, listening skills, and group dynamics

- Interpretive events, original oratory, informative speaking, and extemporaneous speaking

- Congressional debate, cross-examination, and Lincoln-Douglas debate

- Varied speaking activities ranging from choral reading and readers theatre to classroom trials, negotiation games, and protest poetry