I Publication of Principles of Speech Communication， Tenth Brief<br > Edition， celebrates more than fifty years of service to students and<br >instructors of lmblic speaking. It also celebrates a time of unparalleled<br >popularity for tile field of communication--both on campus and in the reahn<br >of public activity.<br > On campus， communication departments of all types are generally<br >overflowing with students. In many colleges， such departments have more<br >majors than most of the other liberal arts units. Their graduates have less<br >trouble than many in finding jobs， because， according to Department of<br >Labor statitstics， between a quarter and a third of all entry level positions<br >in the country call for oral communication skills. Communication majors<br >move into a kaleidoscopic array of careers in the broadcasting and video<br >industries， politics， advertising and public relations， public service organi-<br >zations， religion， film making， sales and promotion， travel industries，<br >teaching， and countless other careers.<br > Communication is no less an important topic of conversation outside<br >the ivied halls of old schools and the cement walls of modern colleges.<br >Leaders of our government have "credibility gaps"; they find "a failure to<br >communicate" when talking with other world leaders; some become known<br > as "Great Communicators." Political rhetoric regularly is labeled "sharp"<br > or "dull" and even "eloquent." The electronic church is controversial in<br > part because of the communication practices of its evangelists， and the<br > established churches seek new ways to revitalize speaker-audience relation-<br > ships， Bumperstickers and billboards scream at us daily to<br > "COMMUN ICATE !"<br > Indeed， our entire culture---our folkways and stocks of shared knowl-<br > edge---can be conceived of as one great big conversation. The idea of<br > "conversation，" of the exchange of thoughts and sentiments， captures<br > perfectly the way Americans think of their culture. We think of ourselves<br > as talking through problems over a cup of coffee， in public hearings， or over<br > call-in phone lines. The idea of conversation in a time of full electrification--<br > when each of us seems wired to everyone else thanks to phones， computers，<br > and fiber optics--is comforting. The idea that you and I still can talk each<br > other into and out of mindsets and activities is comtorting， for it means that<br > you and 1 and he and she and we and they still count.<br > This is an exciting time to be teaching or taking a course in speech<br > communication. Whatever else it may be， this is the Age of Communication.<br > This is a time when students need to acquire and hone their oral<br > communication skills in order to grow and prosper. That s what this book<br > is about. Students will grow and prosper as oral communicators if they<br > (1) understand the conceptual bases of communication processes，<br >