Features of Communication and You: A Closer Look

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A focus on skills and their application. Communication and You delivers everything students need in an introduction to human communication text, in an accessible and relevant voice, and offers plenty of opportunities for students to apply the material to their own lives. Throughout the book students are prompted to reexamine and reinforce concepts like perception, cognition, intercultural communication, nonverbal messages, and group roles through their own experiences.

“What About You?” self-assessment quizzes. These quizzes, appearing toward the end of each chapter, use a variety of formats, all prompting students to examine their own communication techniques, tendencies, and skills. By answering questions about themselves, readers can see the way the chapter’s concepts apply to their daily interactions.

“And You” boxes. Throughout each chapter, short boxes pose thought-provoking, self-examining questions related to culture, technology, and ethics in communication. These questions, drawing on readers’ experiences, infuse these three core topics with real-world resonance. They also make great prompts for classroom discussion or quick response assignments.

“Things to Try” activities. Each chapter also includes activities that provide more involved writing and research assignments. The “Things to Try” boxes maintain the book’s self-reflection focus, with activities that blend the book’s concepts with personal application.

Adaptive learning and integrated self-assessment with LearningCurve. An online learning tool that adapts to what students already know and helps them practice what they don’t yet understand, LearningCurve ensures that students receive as much targeted instruction and practice as they need. The goal of the program is learning, not proving what has been learned, and the practice it offers in understanding and applying communication skills helps students gain the confidence they need in their courses. At the end of major headings, as well as at the beginning and end of each chapter, integrated call-outs prompt students to visit the book’s LearningCurve Web site and take adaptive review quizzes, testing their knowledge of the material. Free access to LearningCurve comes with every new copy of Communication and You.

Video resources. New copies of Communication and You also come with access to VideoCentral: Human Communication, an online resource featuring hundreds of short video clips illustrating the most important terms from the text.