Public Speaking Today

The reason why I like this text so much better than other speaking texts is that the assignments in it are practical. This pragmatic approach teaches students about all elements of speech preparation and delivery, from research to structure to what they will feel like when they're up there giving the speech. There are how-to sections on most types of competitive speeches, such as oratory, lincoln-douglas debate and extemporaneous speaking, which is great for teachers like me who also double as speech coaches for competitive teams. I've never found a useful speech text for high school students until I found this one.