Providing insight into how learning assistance practitioners can effect positive change in the ability of their students to speak and to listen, this book presents the experiences of communication professionals who have succeeded in improving students' skills. The first five chapters describe a variety of instructional methods useful in teaching speaking, interpersonal, and listening skills, and examine some model programs that involve learning assistance personnel. The next three chapters help the reader to find additional information on speech communication instruction. Specifically the chapters discuss the following topics: (1) helping students to become better interpersonal communicators, (2) improving listening skills, (3) overcoming communication anxiety, (4) teaching speech communication skills, (5) speaking and listening education across the curriculum, (6) methods of assessing speaking and listening skills, and (7) resources in speech communication. The eighth chapter provides an overview of the literature on improving speech communication skills, and the ninth discusses the importance of skill improvement and implications for the future. (HTH)