Communication helps students see the relationships among the concepts, skills, theories, and contexts of communication by anchoring all discussion around five fundamental principles.

• Written by experienced and highly regarded textbook authors and teachers, Communication: Principles for a Lifetime provides students with all the theory and skills necessary in the introductory course — in a manner that will help them to apply what they learn throughout their lives. Understanding that the challenge in any basic communication course is teaching students the myriad of skills, principles, and theories without overwhelming them, Beebe/Beebe/Ivy emphasize five key principles of communication throughout their book:
• Be aware of your communication with yourself and others.
• Effectively use and understand verbal messages.
• Effectively use and understand nonverbal messages.
• Listen and respond thoughtfully to others.
• Appropriately adapt messages to others.

Providing both comprehensive and cutting-edge content about communication organized around these five themes, Beebe/Beebe/Ivy cover all of the topics expected in the basic course in a manner that will help both instructors and their students organize the extensive range of material typically covered in the introductory course. With Communication, long after students have forgotten the lists of terms and definitions typically emphasized in this course, they will remember that all of communication revolves around these five basic principles.