The Basics of Communication: A Relational Perspective

Can an understanding of communication concepts improve relationships with others? Conversely, how do our connections with others influence how converse with them? Written in a warm and lively style and packed with teaching tools, The Basics of Communication: A Relational Perspective offers a unique look at the inseparable connection between relationships and communication and highlights the roles that those interpersonal connections play in public speaking as well as in casual discussions. This groundbreaking text offers a hybrid approach of theory and application by introducing students to fundamental communication concepts and providing practical instruction on making effective formal presentations. The authors encourage students to employ critical thinking on key topics, to link communication theory to their own experiences, and to improve their communication skills in the process. Key Featuresáá Stresses the vital intersection of communication and relational contexts and how they interact and influence one another Offers a refreshing and original approach that engages students with lively, topical examples to challenge them and to enliven classroom discussion Provides up-to-date communication topics in a way that easily fits within a traditional course outline Integrates effective pedagogical tools throughout, addressing ethics, media links, and questions for students to discuss with friends, among others Devotes two chapters to the use of media and relational technology such as cell phones, iPods, Blackberries, MySpace, and Facebook in daily communicationsááAncillariesáá Includes an InstructorÆs Resource on CD-ROM that features PowerPoint slides, a test bank, suggestions for course projects and activities, Internet resources, and more. (Contact Customer Care at 1-800-818-7243 to request a copy.) The robust online Student Study Site (www.sagepub.com/bocstudy) includes e-flashcards, video and audio clips, SAGE journal articles, links to a Facebook page for the text, and other interactive resources. Intended Audienceáá Designed as a core textbook for undergraduate students of communication studies, this book is also an excellent resource for business studentsùor others who are interested in learning more about the pervasive role of communication concepts in everyday life.

Table of Contents:
1. An Overview of Everyday Communication What Is Communication Anyway? Properties and Effects of Communication Conclusion: Communication Is... 2. Verbal Communication How You Know What Talk Means Everyday Life Talk and the Relationships Context Ways of Speaking 3. Nonverbal Communication What Is Nonverbal Communication? How Does Nonverbal Communication Work? What Are the Functions of Nonverbal Communication? What Are the Elements of Nonverbal Communication? The Interacting System of Nonverbal Communication Improving Your Use of Nonverbal Communication 4. Listening The Importance of Listening in Everyday Communication Listening Objectives The Process of Active Listening Engaged and Relational Listening Recognizing and Overcoming Listening Obstacles Critical Listening 5. Self and Identity Who Are You? Identity as Inner Core: The Self-Concept Identity and Other People Transacting a Self in Interactions With Others 6. Talk and Interpersonal Relationships Talk, Relationships, and Knowledge Composing Relationships Through Talk Stages in Relationship Development Coming Apart So Are There Stages in Relationship Development or Not? 7. Small-Group Relationships, Leadership, and Decision Making What Makes a Collective or an Assembly Into a Group? Features of Groups Leadership Group Decision Making Group Decision Making Is About Relationships 8. Society, Culture, and Communication Thinking About Culture Structure-Based Cultural Characteristics Defining and Performing Membership of a Culture Communication and Culture Relationships as Culture 9. Technology in Everyday Life Examining Technology Relational Technology and the Construction of Identities Online Activity and the Construction of Identities Relational Technology and Personal Relationships Online Communication and Personal Relationships The Media Equation 10. Relational Uses and Understanding of Media Early Views of the "Mass" Media Audience The Active Use of Media Relational Uses and Functions of Media The Use of Media in Everyday Communication 11. Preparing for a Public Presentation Analyzing Your Audience Selecting Your Topic Determining the Purpose and Thesis of Your Presentation Including Evidence and Support Material Selecting and Using Evidence and Support Material Selecting Sources Using Presentation Aids 12. Developing a Public Presentation The Body: Developing Your Argument Introductions and Conclusions 13. Relating Through Informative Speeches and Persuasive Speeches Informative Speeches Persuasive Speeches 14. Delivering a Public Presentation Three Guidelines for Effective Delivery Styles of Delivery Goals of Effective Delivery Components of Effective Delivery Managing Communication Apprehension

About the Author :
Steve Duck taught in the United Kingdom before taking up the Daniel and Amy Starch Distinguished Research Chair in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa. He has been a professor of communication studies, an adjunct professor of psychology, and a former Dean’s Administrative Fellow and is now Chair of the Rhetoric Department. He has taught interpersonal communication courses, mostly on relationships but also on nonverbal communication, communication in everyday life, construction of identity, communication theory, organizational leadership, and procedures and practices for leaders. More recently, he has taught composition, speaking, and rhetoric, especially for STEM students. By training an interdisciplinary thinker, Steve has focused on the development and decline of relationships, although he has also done research on the dynamics of television production techniques and persuasive messages in health contexts. Steve has written or edited 60 books on relationships and other matters and was the founder and, for the first 15 years, the editor of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. His book Meaningful Relationships: Talking, Sense, and Relating won the G. R. Miller Book Award from the Interpersonal Communication Division of the National Communication Association. Steve cofounded a series of international conferences on personal relationships. He won the University of Iowa’s first Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in 2001 and the National Communication Association’s Robert J. Kibler Memorial Award in 2004 for “dedication to excellence, commitment to the profession, concern for others, vision of what could be, acceptance of diversity, and forthrightness.” He was the 2010 recipient of the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Helen Kechriotis Nelson Teaching Award for a lifetime of excellence in teaching, and in the same year was elected one of the National Communication Association’s Distinguished Scholars. He received the NCA’s 2019 Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication for career contributions to the study of interpersonal communication. He hopes to make it to the Iowa State Fair one day. David T. McMahan received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 2001.  With research focusing on the social aspects of media and technology, personal relationships, and rhetorical criticism, he is the author of multiple books, and his research and scholarship have been published in numerous academic journals and edited volumes.  He was named a Centennial Scholar by the Eastern Communication Association.  David has taught courses that span the discipline of communication, including numerous courses in interpersonal communication and personal relationships, media and technology, communication education, theory, and criticism.  He has been honored to receive multiple awards for his work in the classroom.  A tremendously active member of the discipline, David’s his extensive record of service includes President of the Central States Communication Association, Editor of the Iowa Journal of Communication, and Consulting Editor of the Journal of Communication Pedagogy, along with membership and activity on a vast number of academic committees, executive boards, and editorial boards.  He will serve as President of the National Communication Association in 2021.  David hopes to one day have the winning entry in the Super Bull competition at the Iowa State Fair.

Review :
"The relational theme that the authors set up as a the novelty in an introductory textbook is what would prompt me to adopt it. . . . Something that makes this textbook different is the personal approach that Duck and McMahan use. They address the students as if they were talking to them. . . . Furthermore, the family communication and identity chapters are very appealing and not a common feature among textbooks." "Every chapter presents a variety of materials and issue from communication, psychology, sociology, applied linguistics, and other social sciences and humanities. I have never seen such an interdisciplinary-oriented textbook."   "It is a fresh, new approach that will make conversations with students quite rich!" "Duck and McMahan′s attempt to integrate a relational component to all communication contexts cleverly integrates communication, theory and practice, with psychology, theory and practice." "This is an excellent text for the instructor frustrated with simple and simplistic renderings of communication as merely the skill of self-expression. It challenges both the instructor and the students to set aside what they have been taught by their culture and their media and to reconsider why we think of communication in individualistic terms and how that dominant framework shapes the relationships we engage and maintain."   "This book is entertaining yet relevant, helps instructors connect with their students, and demonstrates the significance of communication as both everyday performance and scholarly endeavor."   "This text is really the first to take advantage of theory and research that focus on the role of communication, relating, and dialogue in everyday life. The central strength is the focus on the ‘dynamic betweenness’ of human communication, and how communication, relationships, and social structures are constituted and reconstituted in everyday life." I would welcome the opportunity to use this text based on the conversational writing style of the authors, the balance between theory and application of this information to daily relationships, and the end of chapter features for discussion. "An in-depth basic communication text with easy to understand examples for each topic area."   "I think that this may be the best book on the basics of communication in terms of organization and relationship between theory and reality, bravo to the authors for their fine work." "Specific applications allow students to experience the theories. This facilitates learning and allows students to improve their communication competencies." "This text provides a fantastic combination of engaging students while challenging them to think about their lives, and communication, in an insightful way. There are several outlets for the students to apply their new ideas and theories in an environment that guides them to understanding." "This refreshing intro text is readable and interesting with comprehensive coverage." The strengths of this text are the real world examples, interactive features, and humble mode of address through narrative and self-disclosure. "A comprehensive hybrid text that includes features that will resonate with multiple learning needs." "The Basics of Communication: A Relational Perspective is more than a basic textbook. This book is an excellent hybrid for those professors who like to introduce basic communication concepts and theory to students along with some instruction on giving presentations." "Duck and McMahan have done everything in their power to compose a textbook that is not only thorough and informative, but which students will also be able to REALLY relate to." "The strengths of this book include the ease of reading, relevant examples and everyday experiences used to help explain concepts, and the discussion of the various ‘selves’ or ways in which we perform identity." "This book is written in a conversational tone and incorporates many recent research findings in the chapter, and it also provides some useful classroom activities." "It is a well written and comprehensive introductory treatment of key issues in communication studies." "Students should be able to relate readily to this book with its easy to understand writing style which doesn′t get bogged down in the author′s own sense of self-importance." "Duck and McMahan have a text that explains to students basic theories and practices of the communication discipline in a manner that reflects the communication experiences these students have encountered in their daily lives. This is more than a book of theoretical ideas and practical advice; it is a book that tells the students ′this is what it means for you.′" "The writing is crisp, clear, serious, jocular, and nuanced with simplicity and complexity. And all this at the same time! The authors′ voice comes through beautifully."   "Excellent! The authors were able to convey exactly the description of the course I try to teach!!" "Thorough, appropriate for the diversity of our population." The writing style of the Duck/McMahan textbook is more conversational and in first person, welcoming an informal style where one can relate. . . . I like how it uses examples that relates to everyday life. . . . It invites me to learn new things about the inner self and others around you. I like how it intertwines sociological and psychological concepts along with the idea of communication. Key strengths include good comparisons, such as the onion, to model the idea of revealing ourselves to others; informative and thoroughly explains concepts so students can understand key terms; excellent end of chapter features to help students analyze what they have just learned from the chapter. It was like I was having a conversation with my textbook. I for once understood what the text was saying, and wanted to continue reading further. It did not seem like a chore to have read. I learned a lot about the chapter and also about myself as I read this chapter! This really doesn’t seem like a textbook! It’s something easy to read and understand. It’s also not one of those textbooks where you dread reading it and put it off till the last minute. I know that if this was my new textbook I would read it first because you are gaining a lot of valuable information. It is much easier to relate to than my current text book is. It seems as if it was written with the students in mind. I felt that it challenged me to learn more about what an identity is and to understand the definitions of your symbolic self, accountability self accountability, etc. I think even students outside of the communication field can appreciate the information and how it applies in their life. This is a book that I would ask my instructor to use in the course. . . . It relates to all audiences and gives real life examples. The tone and up-to-date examples and ideas concerning cell phones, Facebook, Brad Pitt, and Hillary Clinton made it ‘survive-able’. Reading a textbook isn’t my favorite activity, but the cutback on technical language and terms and more description and examples made it easy to understand. I like the media links the most - that is a way I have not seen. It is very easy to relate what the text is talking about and so it is easier to understand. This book I believe has great insight in self–identity and as well as communication with others, it is elaborate and concise. It also gives great picture caption and visual text better than some of the text books that I am using in college today. It changed the way I look at identity! Duck and McMahan are way more fun to read than my current text. I think that it was much more user friendly and ‘kind’ to the reader and actually made you want to read the text, not just scan it for the information that you needed and put it aside again.