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Communication Wisdom: Insights on Communication Principles, Messages, and Relationships book cover

1st Edition

Communication Wisdom Insights on Communication Principles, Messages, and Relationships

Edited By Philip Backlund, Steven Beebe, Ronald Gordon, Sherwyn Morreale Copyright 2025
214 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

214 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

214 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
This collection of 25 essays distills the best thinking about communication principles, messages, and relationships penned by more than two dozen award-winning communication scholars. By positioning the words “communication” and “wisdom” side by side, this book provides insights into the intersection of these two critical elements for living a good life. Recognizing that contemporary... Read more

Table of Contents

 

Introduction

Introduction to Communication Wisdom

Steven A. Beebe

Part 1: Wisdom About Communication Principles

1. Five Principles for Good Communication                                       

Sherwyn Morreale

2. We All Can Be Better Communicators!                                                                                

Philip Backlund

3. Communication Basics                                                                                  

Don Boileau

4. How Do You Know When You’ve Communicated? It Depends!                                

William Eadie

5. Mechayeh: Yiddish for “Life Sustaining, a Blessing”                                                          

Frank E. X. Dance

6. Finding Wisdom and Telling Stories in a 4-Tier Model of Communication                     

John Powers        

7. Speculations on Communication Wisdom                                        

Star Muir

8. Understanding Communication as a Process                                    

Cheri Simonds

Part 2: Wisdom About Communication Messages

9. Communication is the Beginning of Understanding                         

Dawn Braithwaite 

10. Lessons Learned About Communication                                                                              

Randy Hirokawa      

11. Using Rhetoric to Frame Communication: Symbols and Their Consequences            

Roseann Mandziuk                             

12. Two Lessons Learned: The Teacher is Taught                                                                     

Michael Sproule

13. Communication and Your Popular Culture Collage                                                 

Kathleen Turner

14. Gravitating Toward Communication’s Gray Zone: Seven Lessons for Productive Dialogue

Brian Spitzberg                                                      

15. About the Usefulness of Cooperative Argumentation and Dissociations                                      

David Zarefsky

16. Everything I Know about Life I Learned in Debate                          

Isa Engleberg

Part 3: Wisdom About Communication Relationships  

17.  It’s Not About You                                                                            

Steven Beebe

18. The Wise Communicator’s Caring Presence                                    

Ronald Gordon

19. Socio-Emotional Intelligence, Communication, and Enhanced Quality of Life           

Jon Hess          

20. Communication Wisdom: Reducing Uncertainty                                         

Diana Ivy

21. Humanity, Integrity, Optimism, and Communication: The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao

Ronald Jackson           

22. Communication Wisdom: Symbols, Decentering, Active Listening, and Facework

Mark Redmond

23. Bridging the Trust Gap                                                                                  

Pamela Shockley-Zalabak

24. The Ultimate Benefits of Affectionate Communication                               

Kory Floyd

Epilogues: Reflections by the Editors About Communication Wisdom

25. Reflections on Wisdom                                                                                 

Philip Backlund

26. Commencement Wisdom                                                                              

Steven A. Beebe

27. Going for Gold Wisdom                                                                                

Ronald Gordon

28. Pearls of Wisdom                                                                                          

Sherwyn Morreale

Biography

Philip Backlund is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication at Central Washington University, USA.

Steven A. Beebe is Regents’ and University Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication Studies at Texas State University, USA. He is a Past President of the National Communication Association.

Ronald D. Gordon is Professor of Communication at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo, USA. He is a Past President of the Pacific and Asian Communication Association.

Sherwyn P. Morreale is Professor Emerita in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA. She is a Past Associate Director of the National Communication Association.

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