EN210 Oral Communications Career Technical College Monroe, Louisiana

Did you know? Listening to Mozart will make you smarter? Tapping the lid of a shaken soda will cause it not to spew?

Guess What? Neither are true!

Finding High-Quality Information To be considered high-quality, information should meet the following criteria: Factual Reliable Well Supported Current Verifiable Fair Comprehensive

Applying Critical-Thinking Skills Recognize Dubious Claims Reject claims based solely on anecdotes Anecdotes: a short account of an incident Reject claims based solely on testimonials Testimonials: a statement supporting a benefit received Reject claims based solely on opinions Opinion: a conclusion or judgment that remains open to dispute but seems true to one’s own mind

Applying Critical-Thinking Skills Find more than one source Last Monday students in my English Foundations class were researching the life of the author Edgar Allen Poe. They found that different sites gave different dates of birth. They settled the dispute by looking at multiple sources

Applying Critical-Thinking Skills Examine Opposing Viewpoints Finding criticism of your central idea does not mean you shouldn’t give a speech on that topic. Presenting the other side of an argument adds to your credibility and enhances your ethical standing. Examining opposing viewpoints also helps a speaker to anticipate questions about their topic.

Applying Critical-Thinking Skills Be Cautious in Using Polls Some people do not respond honestly Results often depend upon how a question is asked Examine the agenda of the pollster

Applying Critical-Thinking Skills Recognize the Fallibility of Experts Do not assume an expert knows everything There are unreliable, deceptive people in every field This does not mean that you question an expert you are interviewing or suggest that they are “full of it.”

Applying Critical-Thinking Skills Beware of Groups with Misleading Names The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition Ignore warnings and eat more fish than the government recommends – they were funded by the seafood industry! The National Wetlands Coalition Sounds like an environmental group Funded by oil companies and real-estate developers

Analyzing Internet Sites Don’t be swayed by widespread dissemination “It must be true-it’s all over the internet!” Look at the example on page 130. Watch Out for Web Manipulation Infomercials are much more difficult to spot on the internet

Analyzing Internet Sites Don’t be Dazzled by High-Tech Design Just because a website looks very professional, does not mean that it is One good way to check the validity of a website is to look at the web address.

Analyzing Internet Sites Investigate Sponsors and Authors Look for Author Credentials Get Background Information on Sponsors Examine Internet Domain Names Look for Country of Origin Look for Evaluations of Web Sites

Avoiding Plagiarism Plagiarism – stealing the ideas or words of another and passing them off as one’s own Types of Plagiarism Wholesale Copying Cut and Paste Inappropriate Paraphrase

Avoiding Plagiarism Giving Credit to Sources Do this for three reasons: You protect yourself from accusations of plagiarism. You satisfy listeners’ curiosity about the origin of your material. You demonstrate that you are a trustworthy researcher who wants to give credit where credit is due.

Avoiding Plagiarism Giving Credit to Sources Techniques of giving credit in a speech: Give credit as you proceed through your speech. Give global credit in the introduction Display a slide or a poster listing your sources. Provide listeners with a handout listing sources. Display all books, articles, and materials on a table for audience inspection.

Avoiding Plagiarism Using Copyrighted Material Copyright infringement – unauthorized use of legally protected material Public domain what is owned by the community at large; unprotected by patent or copyright

Avoiding Plagiarism Using Copyrighted Materials Fair Use: A loophole in copyright laws to enable scholars, writers, and public speakers to disseminate information without having to spend enormous amounts of time getting permission for every item used. Use only a small and relatively insignificant amount of information Purpose is primarily educational rather than commercial Do not cause economic harm to the copyrighted work

Avoiding Plagiarism Royalty-Free Material Devoid of restrictions or fees You pay for the right to use something and are then free to use it as you wish.