Communication is ubiquitous. In essence, this means that communication is everywhere. It permeates every aspect of our lives. When we are infants, we communicate with our caregivers by using emotions and simple words like “mommy” and “no.” As children, we learn more complex words and are gradually introduced to more abstract phrases. As teenagers, we are introduced to mediated forms of communication such as telephones and, more recently, mobile phones, social media and the Internet.

It is at this point, as teenagers, where our communication instruction usually stops. We are forced to learn to become communicators on our own. Being a good communicator means being a competent interpersonal communicator as well as an effective Public Speaker and as a mass communicator using social media tools. As mass communicators, strategies for using new applications like texting and social media are learned through trial and error. Today, however, we know that modern communicators must be equipped with the knowledge to communicate successfully in face-to-face and mediated settings and this includes public speaking in both domains.

This book is intended to help fill that need. In the following chapters, we guide you through some of the options available in this new age of lightning fast, computer-mediated communication. We explore strategies for improving your communication skills as interpersonal communicators with a major emphasis on the public speaking context. Each chapter addresses some of the fundamental principles of effective human communication and speech making. We discuss these principles as they have been influenced by technological innovations—influenced by changes of the information age.

The information age is noted for hyper-technological change. This change is global in scope and will modify communication worldwide for decades to come. The broad contexts of the way we communicate orally have changed in recent years. However, our goal as communicators has stayed the same: to send messages, through the appropriate channels, to receivers, with some desired effect (Lasswell, 1948). We attempt to map the change that communication scholars have observed and offer strategies for navigating these new paths.