Summary

There are many good reasons to study and practice public speaking. Among them are:

• Public speaking is an essential skill in the professional world.
• Communication in general and public speaking specifically help you in satisfying your own needs and the needs of others.
• Public speaking helps you with your other classes, including those in your major.
• Public speaking skills help to make you a more effective force for change.
• Public speaking helps you become a better listener.
• Public speaking is a key to becoming an informed and active citizen.
• Public speaking helps you think more critically about the issues of the day.

Remember too as you move on to the next chapter that:

• Public speaking is a transaction between speaker and audience.
• This transaction is comprised of interdependent rather than independent parts.
• These parts include (1) the situation, (2) speaker and audience, (3) the message, (4) verbal and nonverbal symbols, and (5) perceptions.