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Here is a wonderful infographic,  What kind of smart are you? , sent to me by Bonnie Moore who asked me to post it. I'm happy to do so; thank you, Bonnie. These infographics are beautifully done; we need more of this type of thing in our textbooks.

Here is a wonderful  Infographic on gender differences , covering a wide variety of issues and sure to stir up controversy in any interpersonal communication class. This was sent to me by Rianna Stanley who asked me to consider posting it. It's my pleasure Rianna.

I wrote the following piece to put down some  initial  thoughts about what a textbook writer does and who a textbook writer is.  I'm sure many (writers and readers) will see things very differently and I'd love to hear from you. I emphasize again that this is a first attempt to define textbook writing and is really in need of much refinement. This article was published in Etc: A Review of General Semantics 70 (3) July, 2013, 282-287.    Textbooks are a fact of college life. They are, in fact, so interwoven into the college experience that you can hardly think of a college course without thinking of the textbook. And certainly one of the fi rst priorities of a college instructor is to select a textbook for the course. Given the importance of the textbook (and the textbook writer) to any and all college courses, it seems useful to identify what a textbook writer is and what a textbook writer does. Surprisingly, little has been written on the textbook  author...

Here are two additional exercises that may prove useful in the discussion of power and interpersonal communication.  As I mentioned in the previous exercises in power post, these topics are covered in depth in Chapter 12 of The Interpersonal Communication Book, but are covered in different ways in other texts as well. So, they may be useful in just about any interpersonal communication or human communication course. Credibility Select a YouTube video of a person giving a talk, leading a meeting, advertising a product, or otherwise attempting to inform or persuade others and analyze the person’s credibility or believability by completing the following table. Dimensions of Credibility Verbal and Nonverbal Messages of Credibility Does the person appear competent, knowledgeable, and expert? (no) 1     2     3     4    5     6     7 (yes, very) What specific...

Here are two exercises that may prove useful in discussing power and interpersonal communication.  These topics are covered in depth in Chapter 12 of The Interpersonal Communication Book, but are covered in different ways in other texts as well. So, they may be useful in just about any interpersonal communication or human communication course. They cover "resisting power" and "types of power." Resisting Power In each of the following situations, pressure is being put on you to do something you really don’t want to do—at least not right now. You need to resist this pressure but not damage the relationship. For each situation, identify 2, 3, or 4 possible choices, and then indicate which choice you’d take and why. 1.        Your dating partner is pressuring you to make a commitment about moving in together but you’re just not ready now though you’d like to keep it open as an option in the future. 2.        Your parents, who ...

Throughout the communication literature there is much research, theory, and discussion on small group leadership. There are even textbooks in group and team leadership. But, there’s little on conversational leadership. Who leads a simple social conversation? What makes a conversational leader? [By “conversational leader” I simply mean someone who controls and literally leads the conversation in the direction he or she desires.] What does a conversational member do that results in attaining leadership? Here are a few thoughts on conversations that are largely face-to-face, though with minor adjustments, they can easily apply to social networking conversations. 1.       The conversational leader chooses the topics of the conversation. Actually, the conversational leader not only chooses the topics but changes them. 2.       The conversational leader speaks differently—more loudly usually and in more varied and animated style. 3.  ...

Here is a wonderful infographic on mental disorders in children, sent to me by Katherine Rose--an area that is clearly relevant to communication but which we seldom address. http://www.topmastersineducation.com/forgotten-children/