Chapter 4: Ethical Public Speaking Meagan B. Sovine

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Demonstrate Competence and Character Ethics derived from Greek word ethos.  Ethos means “character.”  Ethos is the appeal of reliability.  Positive ethos includes being trustworthy, competent, objective, well prepared, and enthusiastic towards your audience.

Sources of Attitudes and Values Family Peer groups Role models Societal institutions

Demonstrate Competence and Character (cont.) Audiences trust a speaker who has source credibility.  Solid grasp of the subject  Sound reasoning skills  Honest and straightforward  Genuinely interested in listeners’ welfare

Respect Your Listeners’ Values Our ethical conduct reflects our values. Values can conflict.  Difficult to talk about certain topics Anticipate the audience’s range of values. Demonstrate respect for audience’s values.

Contribute to Positive Public Discourse Public discourse  Involves issues of importance to community Ethical speech advances constructive goals.  Steers clear of invective (verbal attacks)  Avoids arguments that target a person  Avoids arguments built upon fallacies

Use Your Rights of Free Speech Responsibly The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. Certain types of speech are illegal:  Incitement or “fighting words”  Defamatory speech  Speech that invades a person’s privacy  Hate speech—offensive verbal or nonverbal communication

Hate Speech Example cEY cEY

Think-Pair-Share Are profanity and vulgarity always unethical in public speeches? Can you think of situations where they would seem appropriate? What types of situations and why?

Use Your Rights of Free Speech Responsibly (cont.) When is language defamatory?  Public figures Requires reckless disregard for the truth  Private persons Easier to assert claims of defamation Speaker has burden of proving truth

Observe Ethical Ground Rules Infuse dignity and integrity into speeches.  Dignity ensures listeners feel respected.  Integrity signals your incorruptibility. Adhere to pillars of character.  Be trustworthy, respectful, responsible, and fair.

Avoid Plagiarism Plagiarism is  Presenting another person’s information as your own;  Using others’ ideas/words without acknowledgement;  Copying material from a source.

Orally Acknowledge Your Sources Sources should be acknowledged orally. For each source, include  Type of source  Author or origin of the source  Title or description of the source  Date of the source

Orally Acknowledge Your Sources (cont.) Include all references in a bibliography. Websites must also be cited. Common knowledge is an exception.  Information known by many people

Citing Quotations, Paraphrases, and Summaries Three ways of presenting others’ ideas  Direct quotations (repeating information verbatim)  Paraphrase (restating someone else’s ideas)  Summary (brief overview of another’s ideas)

Fair Use, Copyright, and Ethical Speaking Copyright (legal protection for authors, artists) Copyrighted materials may require permission. Not subject to copyright  Public domain works  Federal government publications

Fair Use, Copyright, and Ethical Speaking (cont.) Doctrine of fair use  Permits limited use of copyrighted works  No permission needed for purposes of Scholarship or teaching Criticism or comment News reporting or research

Fair Use, Copyright, and Ethical Speaking (cont.) Provide credit even with fair use.  Copyright symbol (©) required for visual aids Creative Commons licenses  Attribution (must credit the author)  Noncommercial (noncommercial purposes only)  No derivative works (only verbatim works)

Orally Citing No Wikipedia!!!! Keep a record of:  Who?  Year?

Plagiarism in this Class Verbal citations Direct quotations Paraphrasing References  Outline  PowerPoint

Group Activity Felicia Robinson is running for school board in a large eastern city. Her opponent is conducting what Felicia regards as a highly unethical campaign. In addition to twisting the facts about school taxes, the opponent is pandering to racial prejudice by raising resentment against African Americans and recently arrived immigrants. Five days before the election, Felicia, who is slightly behind in the polls, learns that the district attorney is preparing to indict her opponent for shady business practices. But the indictment will not be formally issued until after the election. Nor can it be taken as evidence that her opponent is guilty – like all citizens, he has the right to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. Still, the news of the indictment could be enough to throw the election Felicia’s way, and her advisers urge her to make it an issue in her remaining campaign speeches. Should Felicia follow their advice?

Summary Questions What is plagiarism, and why is it unethical? How can you avoid plagiarizing? What is hate speech? What is the Doctrine of Fair Use?

In-Class Work Time Finish interviewing your partner Introduction Speeches are due one week from today Next Time: Chapter 5 Chapter 6