Recognizing that there is a growing communications gap in the nation, the Agricultural Board of the National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council organized a Workshop on Communication for Change with the Rural Disadvantaged held in early November of 1970. Because communication has many facets, participants were chosen from a diverse array. The workshop included persons from the academic community who had made studies of one or another aspect of the problem, representatives of various governmental and private agencies who work with the disadvantaged, and representatives of disadvantaged, groups. The workshop proceedings have been prepared with a view to preserving the scholarly aspects of analysis and research, on the one hand, and the flavor and impact of the responses of those who spoke for the disadvantaged, on the other. The following papers are presented in the proceedings publication: Nature of the Communication Process, Talking with the Poor, Goals in Communication with the Disadvantaged, Difficulties Faced in Achieving the Goals, Some Characteristics of Oranizations That Affect Two-Way Communication, What Our Experiences Reveal, Characteristics of the Disadvantaged as They Affect Communication, Why Communication Is Difficult, Methods of Successful Communication with the Disadvantaged, and, Why Methods Fail. Summaries of discussions held are also included. (LS)