1. A POCKET GUIDE TO PUBLIC SPEAKING 5TH EDITION Chapter 4
Ethical Public Speaking

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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.

5. Contribute to Positive 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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)

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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)