Quentin Schultze, professor of communications emeritus at Calvin University and much-beloved expert in the field, has updated and expanded the 2006 edition of his seminal work. The 2020 edition of An Essential Guide to Public Speaking is an indispensable volume for anyone considering or engaged in public speaking.
The second edition, now four-color, includes new information from additional years of work with college students, as well as chapters on speaking for video, doing group presentations, and engaging with civility. An expanded table of contents is a detailed outline of chapter contents to make searching for a specific topic easy. Chapters include Conquer Speaking Fears, Think Biblically, Research the Topic and Audience, and Speak to Persuade Emotionally, among many others.
Graphics are a huge plus. The Spotlight and Servant Speaking Tips offers quick bites of advice and information, with sidebars expanding on topics, quoting relevant Scripture, and showcasing good/bad examples of speeches. Appendices deepen the book’s usefulness with a checklist for preparing a speech, an evaluation form, and enlisting the Holy Spirit to help plan a speech. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter add another dimension.
Schultze is the expert on public speaking, and this book highlights that expertise. It’s informative, visually pleasing, and goes far beyond a simple and quick how-to manual. An Essential Guide to Public Speaking is a robust textbook for college-level speech classes as well as a foundational tool for anyone eager to grow or fine-tune their craft. You’ll need no other resource to improve and grow your public speaking. (Baker Academic)
About the Author
Ann Byle is author of Chicken Scratch: Lessons on Living Creatively from a Flock of Hens. She is a freelance writer and author of several other books, magazine articles, and reviews. She lives in Grand Rapids, Mich.