Learning to feel comfortable with public speaking has a tremendously positive impact on students' school and future career success. In this second edition of his introductory text, Michael Gallagher emphasizes speaking both as a life skill and as a preliminary exploration of competitive Speech and Debate events. This comprehensive, student-friendly guide to public speaking and debate is now written specifically for the student, with additional notes for the teacher moved to a separate Teacher's Guide. More clearly organized, this popular classroom textbook has a new section that addresses speaking across differences in our complicated world. This insightful chapter addresses both individual differences and communities in conflict, offering specific strategies to find common ground. The other five sections of the book-Getting Started, The Basics, Competitive Public Speaking Events, Debate, and Activities to Hone Your Skills-are comprised of 30 chapters that introduce students to all aspects of public speaking and debate and include exercises and activities to make learning more effective: Ice breakers to get students speaking in front of a class Fundamentals such as nonverbal communication, listening skills, and group dynamics Interpretative events, original oratory, informative speaking, and extemporaneous speaking Congressional debate, cross-examination, and Lincoln-Douglas debates Varied activities ranging from choral reading and readers theatre to classroom trials, negotiation games, and protest poetry.