Two hundred forty-five students in a basic speech making course were tested both before and after the course by the Rhetorical Sensitivity Scale (RHETSEN) and by their reactions to three hypothetical speech situations, to determine: (1) whether their rhetorical sensitivity scores would change after completion of such a course, and (2) whether audience sensitivity scores changed. The RHETSEN, consisting of 40 Likert-type items, measured such factors of rhetorical sensitivity as interpersonal candor, inventional complexity, and interaction consciousness. In each of the three hypothetical speech situations (the audience sensitivity instrument), a speaker was asked to speak to a designated audience about a general topic. The instrument asked students to indicate in writing how they would have approached the task of preparing a speech for each of the three occasions. Test scores and content analysis revealed positive significant differences. It was therefore concluded that students enrolled in the basic communication course did experience an increase in both rhetorical sensitivity and audience sensitivity scores. (HOD)