concepts. Instead, it's made up of a series of articles and exercises. If you do them well, you will hopefully give yourself not only an understanding, but also some practice of the concepts involved. It's unlike many books in that it asks you to interact with it; you'll need to write, reflect, answer and ask questions, and think on paper. I realize with regret that means you likely can't sell it back--but we've priced it lower than you'd get paid for a "standard textbook" if you sold it back, so hopefully it's a win-win for you. And it's unlike many books in that there isn't an abundance of communication theory. Theory is good and helpful, and I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that each concept in the coming pages is the result of many decades of much research. But this book is designed to help you develop hands-on skills, specifically to prepare you for various career-related communications. For over a decade, I have worked in various communications roles. I have interviewed, hired, and fired people. I have managed teams; led group meetings; consulted with organizations and built organizations; and have taught, spoken, and trained publicly thousands of times, largely in the university and religious nonprofit world. And over that decade, I have been continually astounded at several scenarios like these: the potential applicant who cannot answer the most basic interview question; the group member who continually drops the ball--and the group who has no idea how to deal with him or her; and especially, the expert in some field who takes the stage at a conference--presumably after successfully completing a speech class at some point in his or her life, since virtually every university student has to take one--and delivers a horribly boring speech, and leaves the audience wondering why they paid the entry fee. My goal is that you won't be the person in any of those scenarios. Written for an entry-level communication student, my goal is that this book gives you practical experience in the areas mentioned above. For you to gain the greatest benefit from this text, you'll need to both read the articles and carry out the practice exercises. And by the end of the text, my hope is that--alongside class lecture, discussion, and activity--you'll nail that interview, inspire that deadbeat group member (or stop being that group member!), and gain a standing ovation from that audience, every time.

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