An Introduction to Communication

This concise book presents theory and teaches skills allowing students from all academic backgrounds to understand the communication field.

Lynn H. Turner (Author), Richard West (Author)

9781316606919, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 October 2018

322 pages
24.6 x 19 x 1.4 cm, 0.71 kg

'Smart, grounded in broad and deep knowledge of communication, and filled with contemporary examples that ring true to students' lives. [It] fills a need for a new approach to communication study.' Helen Sterk, Western Kentucky University

Prioritizing brevity and clarity, this textbook introduces the study of communication through examples and applications of communication in a variety of contexts. With a unique focus on diversity and the impact of culture, each chapter opens with a case study that identifies a communication challenge, which the chapter addresses throughout, and concludes with questions that respond to that challenge. A consistent, organized structure with numerous features including fundamental issues, questions for understanding and analysis, theoretical insight (examining a particular relevant theory), and a skill set section, easily guides you through the foundations of the study of communication. Cross-referencing between chapters demonstrates the multidimensional nature of communication and the everyday talk sections demonstrate how each topic relates to technology, the workplace, or health issues. Offering a wealth of diverse examples from students' personal, professional, and online lives, this book teaches skills allowing students from all academic backgrounds to understand communication.

1. The communication process
2. Culture and communication
3. Perception, the self, and communication
4. Verbal and nonverbal communication
5. Listening and responding
6. Interpersonal and relational communication
7. Communication in small groups and organizations
8. Social/mass media and communication
9. Preparing and composing speeches
10. Audience analysis and speech delivery.

Subject Areas: Media, information & communication industries [KNT], Communication studies [GTC]