This study examined the problem of a suspected decline in the number of schools offering courses in the coaching of high school and college forensics. A list of 127 schools offering graduate programs in the areas of rhetorical and communication theory, public address, and speech communication education was generated from the 1986-87…

A study investigated the effectiveness of subliminal techniques (such as tape recorded programs) for improving public speaking ability. It was hypothesized that students who used subliminal tapes to improve public speaking ability would perform no differently from classmates who listened to identical-sounding placebo tape programs containing no…

A study examined stages and objectives of a systematic desensitization (SD) program and its effects on subject reported apprehension levels and perceived benefits and behavior changes toward public speaking. Subjects, 19 freshmen and sophomore university students, were administered the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA-24).…

Teachers of public speaking need to provide the educational leadership necessary for students to become responsible for their presentational interaction. Several instructional practices can help students re-position themselves in what they do with their presentational interaction to make it meaningful. For example, teachers can respond to student…

The rhetorical functions of history depend on the domain in which history is used, with no connotations of interpretive priority attaching to the social or the academic realm. The appropriation of history in support of social causes as radically opposed as socialism and fascism fuels the temptation to subsume history under ideology, with the…

To account for how physical attractiveness or unattractiveness may have pervasive effects upon others' perceptions of an individual in a public speaking class, 26 male and 26 female speakers were rated by their classmates in terms of attractiveness and quality of speaking performance at the beginning and end of a ten-week quarter. In addition,…

There is a simple but effective process for developing public speakers in elementary and junior high schools. After discussing the importance of effective speaking, the teacher puts a topic sentence, on favorite desserts for example, on the board or overhead projector and students think of their favorite desserts and some related words and…

A study was conducted to determine whether significant public speaking anxiety is present in an adult elective speech course and to determine whether speech anxiety can be lowered with the use of post-speech conferences. Subjects were 74 undergraduate students enrolled in four sections of a night elective course in public speaking. The Personal…

Data from five first-place orations from the earliest Interstate Oratorical contests (1874-1878) and five recent first-place orations (1978-1982) were analyzed to determine their subjects or prominent theme, the patterns of organization that were employed, and the types of evidence the speakers used. Following this, historical conclusions were…

A study of President Ronald Reagan's speeches reveals not only a President intent on "identifying directly with the people," but a spokesman adept at the use of symbolic communication as well. Probably the most obvious symbol of the campaign for economic renewal is the term "Reaganomics" itself. Referentially, it has come to…

The "speech anxiety peak experience" is the time during the speech event when the most anxiety is felt. A study tested the hypothesis that speakers would report higher communication anxiety levels at the beginning of the speech event rather than at the middle or end of the presentation. A Communication Apprehension Graph (CAG) was developed to…

While several paradigms for judging debate have been thoroughly discussed, the view of the judge as a tabula rasa has received little treatment. The tabula rasa approach can take the form of a framework added onto a traditional judging framework, or it can take the view that making debate theory debatable is only one of several implications of…

Two studies were conducted to compare certain characteristics of high school students in Hawaii who take part in forensic activities with those not involved and also to compare groups of the forensic participants with each other. Three instruments were used: the Predisposition Toward Verbal Behavior Scale, the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations…

Two variables that may affect speech criticism were studied: the sex of the speaker and the rater's attitude of sexism. An ancillary study concerning the effect of the sex of the teacher was also undertaken. The study included the development of an instrument to measure sexism, which revealed some of the effects of sex and sexism on the criticism…

Apprehension on the part of students who must engage in public speaking figures high on the list of student fears. Speech anxiety has been viewed as a trait--the overall propensity to fear giving speeches--and as a state--the condition of fearfulness on a particular occasion of speech making. Methodology in therapy research should abide by the…