Rhetorical Public Speaking
Social Influence in the Digital Age
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:10th Nov '26
£171.99
This title is due to be published on 10th November, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£55.99(9781041329015)

The fifth edition of this text empowers students to act as engaged citizens by teaching them the skills of oratory and social influencing necessary to make a difference in a dynamic world.
Placing classical virtues in conversation with contemporary techniques, it presents a rhetorical emphasis on ethos, pathos, and logos as distinct forms of proof and enriches these concepts with contemporary rhetorical theory. This edition includes an updated chapter that examines film theory to define the techniques of recording speeches for use in digital social influencing. It also introduces the place of artificial intelligence in speaking performance, exploring how it can both enhance and undermine the art of public speaking. Each chapter includes historical speech examples, discussion questions, summary tables, and exercises for review and retention. Finally, chapters conclude with an ethical reflection on the role of public speaking in our digital age of democracy. It serves as a helpful guide for various public speakers looking to inspire, enlighten, criticize, and advocate.
This text will appeal to students in public speaking and rhetoric courses and instructors interested in bridging the gap between traditional oral performance and engagement in a digital age.
Online resources, including an updated instructor’s manual with discussion questions, test bank, and PowerPoint slides are available at www.routledge.com/9781041329015.
Praise for the Fourth Edition
"Like a good parallel construction, which students will learn about in this book, Rhetorical Public Speaking admirably balances two important objectives. While it makes the rhetorical tradition accessible to modern students, it also demonstrates the enduring practical value of the liberal arts for the digital age. From classical speech genres to new media situations, the text illustrates the perennial adaptability of a rhetorical education."
John J. Jasso,Ave Maria University, USA
"Rhetorical Public Speaking is simply the best public speaking textbook I have ever read. Itis sufficiently comprehensive without being overwhelming or needlessly technical. It uses a range of examples and explanations more relevant to contemporary college students than those found in other books. Rhetorical Public Speaking is the first textbook of its kind that I would enthusiastically recommend, and I expect it to become one of the most widely used public speaking textbooks at the college level for many years to come."
Calum Matheson,University of Pittsburgh, USA
"Simultaneously an incisive public speaking handbook and a cogent primer on the rhetorical tradition, this lively and thoughtful text teaches students not only how to speak, but why we speak. It is a manual for teaching students to become both artistic producers of and thoughtful, engaged audiences for public discourse in an ever-shifting media environment."
Nicholas L. Stefanski,Alfred State College, USA
ISBN: 9781041329022
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
194 pages
5th edition