PUBLIC SPEAKING IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY
The Essentials
First Edition
Larry A. Samovar, San Diego State University
Edwin R. McDaniel, San Diego State University  
Instructor Manual/Testing Program Available Online
ISBN: 1-933220-93-7
75 pages, © 2007
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ISBN: 1-931719-00-4
200 pages, softbound, © 2007
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Public Speaking in a Multicultural Society: The Essentials, 1st ed.
The influence of culture is a common and growing consideration in contemporary society. International business, workforce diversity, cross-cultural health care, multicultural education, and changing demographics have made culture a salient role in our daily lives. Cultural factors also represent a critical aspect of public address and are often underemphasized in brief public speaking texts. This new book rectifies that oversight.

Samovar and McDaniel's PUBLIC SPEAKING IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY demonstrates to students the many ways that culture influences the public speaking process and listening experience. This new text is designed as an affordable guide which focuses on the practical application of speaking effectively and listening critically in a multicultural world.

Features of the book include the following:

  • The various aspects of culture that affect public speaking and listening are a central theme. Cultural-relevant examples relating to international and domestic cultural diversity are central to every chapter.
  • The authors advocate replacing some traditional presentation practices with contemporary public speaking support technologies.
  • The text emphasizes the applied side of public address. Public speaking skills are seen as improving with practice, and the book serves as a practical guide for students to actually engage in speech making, rather than examining complex theoretical topics.
  • The chapters are sequenced to move students from basic concepts to more detailed subjects. However, the text purposely avoids comprehensive, in-depth treatment of many nonessential theoretical considerations that have accumulated in more traditional public speaking books.
  • The book incorporates lessons learned from the authors' personal experiences gained in actually preparing and giving presentations to international corporate executives and high-level government officials.
  • The confluence of ethics and culture is addressed throughout the book.

The text is enriched by Samovar and McDaniel's unique level of experience and diverse backgrounds, which include teaching public speaking, intercultural communication, organizational communication across different cultures, and cross-cultural communication in international business settings, as well as actually living abroad.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 1. Communication: Concepts and Responsibilities

 2. Getting Started: Preparing a Message

 3. Audience Analysis: Adapting the Message

 4. Presenting the Message: Voice and Body

 5. Supporting the Message: Finding and Using Evidence

 6. Being Clear: Organizing the Message

 7. The Medium of the Message: Using Language

 8. Sharing Information: The Informative Speech

 9. Influencing Others: The Persuasive Speech

10. Special Occasions: The Unique Event

Appendices

 1. Sample Outlines

 2. MLA & APA Guides

 3. Glossary