Substantial Content Revisions

When developing a new book for the course, we did not want to present students and the discipline with a cookie-cutter book which looked much like every other basic course textbook published in the past few decades. We believed that our relational perspective would provide students with a coherent structure to their study of communication and would provide them with an opportunity to apply the material to their everyday personal and professional lives. We also believed that while some traditional material such as verbal communication, nonverbal communication, and listening should be included in any basic course, other material such as relational technology or social media (i.e., cell phones and Internet) and culture were conspicuously absent from other books in spite of being integral parts of students’ lives. We believed that pedagogical tools such as boxes and photos should be focused on learning instead of being meaningless filler or attractive distractions. Finally, we believed that ancillary materials should be developed that would benefit students, new instructors, and experienced instructors alike.

In order to substantiate, challenge, and build upon these beliefs, we engaged in extensive discussions with our fellow basic course instructors and directors as well as students throughout the United States and other countries. We wanted to know what they needed in a basic course textbook, what worked with previous textbooks, what did not work with previous textbooks, and what innovations must be included. Primarily due to their input and encouragement during all facets of its development and production, the first edition of The Basics of Communication was met with an overwhelmingly positive response. These discussions continued once the first edition had been published and remained fundamental in the development and production of this edition.