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Preface

When we first wrote our book Real Communication, our goal was to capture the dynamic and evolving nature of the human communication discipline while engaging students’ own experiences and drawing connections between topics in a wide-ranging course. As instructors, we know that making these connections clear to students can be a challenge in a course that requires diverse coverage in a relatively short period. We felt, and still feel, that communication instruction should reflect the real world that students live in. The success we experienced with Real Communication was gratifying, as we’ve heard from so many instructors and students that our friendly, familiar, and scholarly approach helps them teach and study modern communication.

The experience of writing for this course was also instructive for us, as we listened to those instructors and students talk about what approaches to communication—inside the classroom and out—work best for them. As teachers, we realize that there is no one-size-fits-all book for the human communication course, and that some students would benefit from a more streamlined, personal approach. We saw a place for another book: one just as comprehensive in its treatment of human communication, but focusing even more closely on what students want and need—and how those wants and needs relate to the communication processes.

Communication and You is the result, and writing this book began with those simple questions: What do students want? What do students need? We’ve found that many students are interested in the self, which is why Communication and You has a uniquely personal vision of communication—a human approach to a human subject. The book covers the full spectrum of communication—interpersonal, nonverbal, group, public speaking, mass communication—while zeroing in on self-assessment and self-reflection across all of those topics, weaving them together through the students’ experiences. To this end, each chapter includes prominent “What About You?” self-assessment quizzes, an enjoyable way for students to interact with the material they’ve just learned. This interaction continues online: Communication and You comes with LearningCurve, an integrated media program that allows students to take adaptive online review quizzes, assessing their progress in the course.

Many students also want to see how communication skills can be applied in the real world. We’ve received great encouragement about the engaging and relatable examples we use in our books, and we’ve built on those real-life connections for Communication and You. In addition to examples from real-life students, instructors, and professionals, Communication and You features “And You” boxes throughout each chapter that prompt students to consider their own experiences as they relate to culture, technology, and ethics; and “Things to Try” boxes that offer students activities for applying their communication skills.

Finally, communication students want to succeed in their human communication courses, and our book gives them the tools they need for that success. With its program of self-assessment, self-reflection, and online practice, Communication and You allows students to interact and engage with the material and, by emphasizing the application of communication skills, it prepares students to excel both in the course and in their real-life communication. We hope that having a lower price than many other human communication books will allow Communication and You to be accessible to students and instructors seeking an affordable option for their classrooms.

Teachers and students using the focused yet comprehensive pedagogy and accompanying digital resources of Communication and You should find that the human communication course becomes more manageable and easier to understand. We’re excited for students to connect the study of communication with the study of their own lives.