Follow Laura, her roommates, an impassioned T.A., and a host of other characters as they navigate their way through public speaking. Read along as Aristotle gets a uniquely American update and the Sophists at last get their pedagogical say. Watch as YouTube and other web-based digital content gets leveraged for illustrative effect. And perhaps best of all, know that our dynamic platform is always ready to be customized to reflect your own needs as a teacher of this ancient (and harrowing) art. Equal parts book, film, animation, and always interactive, this "textbook experience" will have your students talking, your lectures popping, and the world of public speaking recalibrated and re-engineered for today's students.

Authored by Davis W. Houck, the Fannie Lou Hamer Professor of Rhetorical Studies at Florida State University, the inventional foundation for Public Speaking in the 21st Century springs from a single premise: let's write a book that's so compelling and unique that students will talk about it, read it enthusiastically, put its principles into practice, and come to class ready to engage with its contents.

Houck's aim throughout the text is to address undergraduates in 2025 where they are: smack in the middle of a digital revolution in which technology mediates so much of their daily lives. Houck's sense of humor, his examples, and his compassion for undergraduates who often resist taking this course are on display in every chapter.

Julia Wood, a very accomplished textbook writer in her own right, had this to say about the text: "I'd like being a student in your [Houck's] public speaking class. The book is fresh, definitely distinct from all of the books I've seen. The difference is not just voice, although the voice is distinct. I see your voice in the text as that of a coach. Your coaching shows great respect for students and a keen investment in their success. I can't imagine that students would not find your coaching inspiring or that they would not find your text more engaging and entertaining than most of the texts they are assigned."