Understanding Human Communication

by Ronald B. Adler, George Rodman, Athena du Pré

Updated and expanded coverage of: --Culture and communication, in a full chapter (Chapter 3) and new "Understanding Diversity" boxes --Gender and communication, including gender roles and sexual orientation (Chapter 4) --The effects of technology and social media on communication, throughout the text and in new "Understanding Communication Technology" boxes --Communication strategies for career success in an expanded career appendix and new "@Work" boxes --Tips on effective speaking, with new annotated sample speeches (Chapters 11 through 14) New design and features: --Chapter-opening profiles highlighting real-world communication challenges --Self-assessments for evaluating and improving communication skills --Checklists in the public speaking chapters, summarizing tips at a glance --"On Your Feet" prompts for public speaking practice --Contemporary examples and videos, including a YouTube channel of clips from films, TV shows, ads, and Internet videos that bring communication concepts to life A revised and updated support package: --The Dashboard platform delivers high-quality resources for instructors and students in an intuitive, web-based learning environment and is compatible with mobile devices --YouTube channel brings communication concepts to life through TV and film clips --Instructor's Manual and Test Bank on CD or in print --PowerPointc-based and Prezi slides include quizzes, video links, discussion prompts, class activities, and more --Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/adler offers free resources for instructors and students --Now Playing: Learning Communication Through Film --Student Success Manual --Bonus chapters available on Mass Communication and on Communication and Service Learning --Cartridges for course management systems are available as an alternative to Dashboard

Genres: Textbooks, Psychology, Nonfiction, School, Communication, Read For School, College

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Ronald Brian Adler

Reviews

[Jessica Gleason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting updates. The new chapters are useful. Lacks real world readings/articles which could help students apply concepts. I wish it also had better activities.

[Spencer Hubert · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was extremely frustrating to read. Almost all of its content everyone knows by the age of 14, but because the book spends chapters and chapters putting in into words to whose benefit I do not know (aliens?), it tricks the reader into thinking they're learning new concepts or skills. While in addition, just constantly throughout the book, every other paragraph, the extremely annoying author HAS to throw in another political jab. And the thing is: college students eat this stuff up. It's literally a tool for brainwashing.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son’s speech class text
Comprehensive and well written I liked the connection to Chapman, as I was previously familiar with his work
Activities are connected to the material well and further exploration is available at the website
The format design was colorful, text format changing appropriately as well
Summaries are brief, key terms pretty direct

[Angela]

Ronald B. Adler has been groundbreaking in the field of communications since his 1965 edition. I took a course in 1989 in college that studied his insights, and it has been a benefit to my personal and professional life ever since.

[Alexann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but incredibly redundant in my opinion. I ended up not reading the last chapters, opting for my teacher’s powerpoint explanations instead which were more organized and went straight to the point.

[Shaydy · Rating 2 out of 5]

At times this is a self-help book with valuable mementos; at others, it puts names to phenomenon most people have experienced since youth and don’t necessarily benefit from hearing explained in textbook (albeit accessible textbook) format.

[Rain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry boring... but required reading for college speech class.

[Acenith Claassen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tends to contradict its own text quite a bit with regard to sex and gender. Quizzes in each chapter put people into categories that simply cannot be accurate based on 4 or 5 questions.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many typos, but I learned a lot from the actual content.

[Nicholas Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough

[Maya Lane DeGala Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book determines whether you are a good human being with interpersonal communication terms!

[Haytham Badawey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on human communication, it has the cutting edge for the art and science of human communication. The terminology, the concepts, processes, skills and abilities; everything is explained in fine details and very well presented and summarized in this book.

Other books in the field are just a trial for imitating and copying this book, I read the 3th edition, and I use it as a reference!

I completely recommend it!

[Magali Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a fun read--it was a textbook for a class lol, but for the most part very educational. There were several things about the LGBTQ+ that were either blatantly wrong or just mostly wrong. It was nice to see the effort but it's really frustrating when it might be some people's only knowledge on certain aspects of the community. Most of the issues I found were with the gender side of things or just using sexuality, sex, and gender interchangeably at times.

[Stephen · Rating 1 out of 5]

2004 wrote: Required Read for Fundamentals of Speech and Communication. I resolve I will never understand human communication, nor will anyone, for as soon as it is studied, it will evolve into something else. If too many know it's secrets, the tricks are gone. The gig is up.

[Jonathan]

None

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for a 1st year University class. I remember using it again in other years as it was very informative to my studies as a Communications student

[Miriam Dyck · Rating 3 out of 5]

It did its job. It got me through my course and it was very well organized. For all intense and purposes it was fine but nothing to read for fun

[Melonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book must be good, since I was on the re-editing team ;-)

[Issa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It definitely exceeded my expectations!