Effective Public Speaking
Lead Author(s): George Griffin and Contributors
Student Price: Contact us to learn more
Top Hat Intro Course - Designed to teach the skills and build the confidence your students need to become effective public speakers.
What is a Top Hat Textbook?
Top Hat has reimagined the textbook – one that is designed to improve student readership through interactivity, is updated by a community of collaborating professors with the newest information, and accessed online from anywhere, at anytime.
- Top Hat Textbooks are built full of embedded videos, interactive timelines, charts, graphs, and video lessons from the authors themselves
- High-quality and affordable, at a significant fraction in cost vs traditional publisher textbooks
Key features in this textbook
Key features in this textbook
Interactive learning
- Over 125 speech videos offer a diverse representation of students presenting common mistakes and best practices
- Learners can experience examples “without embarrassment”
- Audio and video assignments allow students to submit speech videos and assignments for professor and peer review
Dynamic assessments
- Built-in assessment questions are embedded throughout chapters
- Students get the opportunity to read a little, then do a little
Included slide decks and multimedia features
- Instructors get a full set of slide decks aligned to each chapter of the book
- Each deck comes with interactive questions, videos and eye-catching visuals
Comparison of Public Speaking Textbooks
Consider adding Top Hat’s Effective Public Speaking textbook to your upcoming course. We’ve put together a textbook comparison to make it easy for you in your upcoming evaluation.
Top Hat
George Griffin, Effective Public Speaking, Only one edition needed
McGraw-Hill
Stephen Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach, 9th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking Handbook, 5th Edition
Pricing
Average price of textbook across most common format
Up to 40-60% more affordable
Lifetime access on any device
$121.80
Hardcover print text only
$99.29
Hardcover print text only
$114.52
Hardcover print text only
Always up-to-date content, constantly revised by community of professors
Content meets standard for Introduction to Anatomy & Physiology course, and is updated with the latest content
In-Book Interactivity
Includes embedded multi-media files and integrated software to enhance visual presentation of concepts directly in textbook
Only available with supplementary resources at additional cost
Only available with supplementary resources at additional cost
Only available with supplementary resources at additional cost
Customizable
Ability to revise, adjust and adapt content to meet needs of course and instructor
All-in-one Platform
Access to additional questions, test banks, and slides available within one platform
Pricing
Average price of textbook across most common format
Top Hat
George Griffin, Effective Public Speaking, Only one edition needed
Up to 40-60% more affordable
Lifetime access on any device
McGraw-Hill
Stephen Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition
$121.80
Hardcover print text only
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach, 9th Edition
$99.29
Hardcover print text only
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking Handbook, 5th Edition
$114.52
Hardcover print text only
Always up-to-date content, constantly revised by community of professors
Constantly revised and updated by a community of professors with the latest content
Top Hat
George Griffin, Effective Public Speaking, Only one edition needed
McGraw-Hill
Stephen Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach, 9th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking Handbook, 5th Edition
In-book Interactivity
Includes embedded multi-media files and integrated software to enhance visual presentation of concepts directly in textbook
Top Hat
George Griffin, Effective Public Speaking, Only one edition needed
McGraw-Hill
Stephen Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach, 9th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking Handbook, 5th Edition
Customizable
Ability to revise, adjust and adapt content to meet needs of course and instructor
Top Hat
George Griffin, Effective Public Speaking, Only one edition needed
McGraw-Hill
Stephen Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach, 9th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking Handbook, 5th Edition
All-in-one Platform
Access to additional questions, test banks, and slides available within one platform
Top Hat
George Griffin, Effective Public Speaking, Only one edition needed
McGraw-Hill
Stephen Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, 12th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach, 9th Edition
Pearson
Beebe & Beebe, Public Speaking Handbook, 5th Edition
About this textbook
Lead Authors
George Griffin, Professor of SpeechKeiser University
George Griffin earned his degrees at the University of West Florida and Auburn University. He has been teaching college, business seminars and workshops for over 30 years, while still doing public speaking engagements for non-profit organizations. Currently, he is serving as the Professor of Speech at Keiser University, Orlando, and as Adjunct Professor at Stetson University. George is also the author of “STAGE FRIGHT! A Student-Friendly Guide to Managing the Jitters.”
Contributing Authors
Wade CorneliusNew Mexico State University
Kathryn DederichsUniversity of St. Thomas
Morgan GintherInstructional Designer at Texas A & M
Luke GreenSt. Cloud Technical and Community College
María Elena BermúdezGeorgia State University
Daryle NaganoEl Camino College
Wendy YarberryFlorida State College at Jacksonville
Allen DavisIndiana University
Jasmine RobertsOhio State University
Krista MacDonaldDoña Ana Community College
Explore this textbook
Read the fully unlocked textbook below, and if you’re interested in learning more, get in touch to see how you can use this textbook in your course today.
Activity #1: Let's Talk about Anxiety
Instructions
1. Lead the class in an open discussion: List some of the specific fears that you have about speaking in front of a group. Students may submit answers in the Top Hat discussion "Fears of Public Speaking" Once you have compiled a thorough class list, have students come up with suggestions to address each of the fears.
2. Lead the class in an open discussion: As a group, have students come up with a list of possible “Fantasy Star” moments that would put them in the spotlight in a positive way – winning on a game show, accepting a Grammy award, being toasted at a wedding, etc. Discuss how these fantasies could help relax a speaker right before starting a speech. Students may submit their answers in the Top Hat discussion "Fantasy Star."
3. In advance, assign the class to write a one-page essay on any relatively benign topic, such as why they decided to go to college, how they wound up at this college, or what their career goals are after school, etc. (Have everyone write their essay on the same topic, though.) Have students read through their essays to identify a handful of “prompt words” or “trigger words” that they would need in front of them if they were going to present this essay as a speech. Have students underline, circle, or highlight those key words.
For example, if the student wrote the sentence, “Years ago, I promised my grandmother that I would continue my education until I earned a college degree,” have them simply circle the one word, “grandmother,” ignoring the other 17 words in the sentence. When they are finished, they should have no more that 10 or 12 words highlighted on the page. Have the students write those few highlighted words on a note card.
Now pair the students up with a partner, and have them practice explaining what was in the essay only using the words on the card. After the exercise, stress to them that it was okay if they added or deleted some details.
4. Lead the class in an open discussion on the following topic: When you stand in front of an audience to speak, what anxiety symptoms do you experience? Make a running list. Students can input their answers into the top hat discussion "Anxiety Symptoms" Which of those symptoms would be visible to the audience? What could you do to make them less obvious?