Laura Arnett Smith

Leading Your Audience Laura Arnett Smith

Leading Your Audience: A Systematic Approach to Public Speaking is designed to prepare students to lead as public speakers in the classroom and beyond. The text increases readers' understanding of the principles and processes of communicating effectively in public situations. As students participate in the process, they become proficient in basic speaking skills, while increasing their confidence successfully in a variety of contexts.

Over the course of 11 chapters, students are presented with material compiled in a strategic order to maximize time and learning during the academic term. They learn incrementally while they practice, build proficiency, and complete speech assignments in each chapter. Written in a conversational tone to reduce stress, students navigate through simplified formulas and lists that contain clear and concise content that is cross-referenced throughout the text.

The third edition features more timely and detailed examples, practical explanations, and fresh sources. Material on evaluating types of sources for reliability, detecting misinformation and disinformation, the impacts of technology, understanding audience diversity, digital audience considerations, group collaboration, and more has been expanded or added.

Extensively class tested, Leading Your Audience is an ideal textbook for foundational or advanced courses in public speaking both in person and online.