RECENT BOOKS by Rodney G. Miller

All books available worldwide at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BOOKS-A-MILLION, Bookshop.org, IndieBound, and bookstores or libraries ordering via Ingram

Communication Essays

Cover Image: “hand” by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

Now at Amazon, IndieBound, Barnes&Noble, BOOKS-A-MILLION,

and other stores.

Also via Ingram for library and bookstore orders.

117 pages, August 2022

ISBN: 978-1-7374895-4-2 (hardback)

ISBN: 978-1-7374895-6-6 (ebook)

[click on book cover to "Read sample"]

Communicate Personally

"These explorations... pinpoint the foundations of building strong public communication processes, considering best practices... [also] ...exploring how some approaches break down and thwart the very process they intend to support: 'When the goal of communication is just to get a message out, stakeholders understand intuitively that their views, feelings, or perspectives are not considered important.' ...a powerful survey that displays how systematic personal communication can foster growth, change, and dialogues that promote organizational and community trust."

- D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

Seven essays outline proven approaches that individuals and organizations use to engage communication strategies, processes and behaviors to accomplish exceptional results.

Connecting the essays written over three decades from 1979 to 2010 is the focused study of communication practices to optimize results - whether to teach oral communication, strengthen democracy, grow organizational trust, build community relations or sustain fundraising.

These concerns endure among the more substantial communication challenges. Each requires mutual understanding and cooperative action. The book shares how to design and deliver the systematic, personal communication needed. The communication practices described are informed by the academy and shaped from the author's three decades leading start-up, emergent or mature external relations and fundraising efforts for educational, political and community organizations.

The book incorporates lessons from leaders in more than twenty high-performing organizations in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Also distilled are understandings from ground-breaking study of the leaders of institutional advancement in some of the most successful universities in the world.

Contents: 1. Developing Oral Communication. 2. Rhetoric of Democracy. 3. Developing the Culture of Trust. 4. Improving Community Service. 5. Benchmarking Advancement. 6. Beyond Benchmarking Advancement. 7. Sustain Funding Growth. References and Bibliography.

Collecting papers shared at conferences or seminars of The Royal Society of Queensland, Corporate Communication International, The Council for Advancement and Support of Education and in publications of the State University of New York Press.

A digest of insights and ways to strengthen public communication!

Keywords: communication, tertiary education, organizational development, fundraising, institutional advancement, oral communication, democracy.

Australians Speak Out

MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW: Reviewer's Choice, "...key lessons about everyday language to reach people ...highly recommended." - Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer. AUSTRALIAN LAW JOURNAL: "Miller's... keen eye, quick prose, and strong choice of material keep the reader engaged." - Harry Hobbs PhD, Associate Professor, University Technology Sydney Faculty of Law. EDITORIAL REVIEW: "A fascinating, monumental book that should be compulsory for all history and political students and many others." - Roslyn Petelin PhD, Honorary Associate Professor, School of Communication and Arts, The University of Queensland and author, How Writing Works. / ISBN 978-1-7374895-1-1 (hardcover); 978-1-7374895-0-4 (paperback)

Communication and Beyond

Chronicles key pioneering efforts to establish and evolve communication study and teaching in Australia, assessing changing government mandates, research, premier communication courses, faculty personalities, and new career options for graduates. Describes a new dawning in communication education from the the 1970s, delivering new career options, innovative study and teaching, and new experiences putting communication into practice. / ISBN 978-1-7374895-2-8 (hardcover); 979-8-22333658-4-6 (ebook)

Bestest Words

Need to tell fact from opinion? And the proven from the plausible? For anyone who cares to crush the manufactured outrage in recent public discourse, Bestest Words pushes back on screams for the camera and other propaganda. These 70 commentaries were written as blog posts from 2020 to 2022, amid worldwide threats to health, safety, and freedoms previously taken for granted. Amid ongoing challenges, the book supports the insight of Albert Camus who recognized a substantial value of democracy to be what it prevents. These commentaries suggest when and how to • Hold public figures and the media accountable. • Stand up to the verbal abuse that Orwell predicted. • Reassert truth and other core values in daily life. A spotlight on using words wisely! / ISBN 978-1-7374895-5-9 (paperback)