The good organization communicating well: Teaching rhetoric in the public relations classroom

This essay refines public relations pedagogy by demonstrating further the ways in which rhetorical instruction can be a good means of teaching public relations students critical thinking skills needed to be thoughtful, ethical, and reflective practitioners. We argue that exposing students to classes and techniques rooted in the rhetorical tradition can (1) help to prepare students for practice; (2) address criticism of the curriculum's limited functionalistic scope; (3) prepare students to both understand and interrogate public discourse generally. We establish the foundations of rhetoric's role in public relations and provide three pedagogical examples and classroom exercises, thus demonstrating the benefits of further incorporating this perspective into the public relations classroom. The pragmatic implications of those exercises and other efforts in infusing the rhetorical tradition into public relations pedagogy are discussed.

► We refine pedagogy by demonstrating how rhetorical theories and concepts can teach public relations students critical thinking skills.
► Exposing students to the rhetorical tradition prepares students for practice, addresses the curriculum's criticisms, and helps interrogate public discourse.
► We provide three pedagogical exercises to demonstrate the benefits of further incorporating rhetorical perspectives into the public relations classroom.