Public Speaking
Lecture Notes – Chapter Three
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in the United States, the right to speak freely goes hand in hand with the
responsibility to speak ethically
ethics are the beliefs, values, and moral principles by which people
determine what is right and wrong
o ethics serve as criteria for many of the decisions we make in our
personal and professional lives, and also for our judgments of others’
behaviors
free speech is legally protected speech or speech acts
o in a country in which free speech is protected by law, the right to
speak freely must be balanced by the responsibility to speak ethically
according to the National Communication Association (a Credo for
Communication Ethics in 1999):
o “Ethical Communication is fundamental to responsible thinking,
decision making, and the development of relationships and
communities within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and
media…”
ethical considerations should guide every step of the public-speaking process
o as you determine the goal of your speech, outline your arguments, and
select your evidence, think about the beliefs, values, and moral
principles of your audience, as well as your own
Speaking Freely
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in 1791, the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution was written to protect
freedom of speech
o the first amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees
free speech; the first of the ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution
are known collectively as the Bill of Rights
during WWI, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was lawful to restrict
speech that presented a “clear and present danger” to the nation
o this decision led to the founding, in 1920, of the American Civil
Liberties Union, the first organization formed to protect free speech
in 1964, the Supreme Court narrowed the definition of slander, or false
speech that harms someone
o the court ruled that before a public official can recover damages for
slander, he or she must prove that the slanderous statement was
made with “actual malice”
in 1989, the Supreme Court defended the burning of the U.S. flag as a speech
act protected by the First Amendment
o a speech act is a behavior, such as flag burning, that is viewed by law
as nonverbal communication and is subject to the same protections
and limitations as verbal speech
Speaking Ethically
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ethical speech is speech that is responsible, honest, and tolerant
o although there is no definitive ethical creed for a public speaker,
teachers and practitioners of public speaking generally agree that an
ethical speaker is one who has a clear, responsible goal; uses sound
evidence and reasoning; is sensitive to and tolerant of differences; is
honest; and avoids plagiarism
Have a Clear and Reasonable Goal
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the goal of a public speech should be clear to the audience
o if you keep your agenda hidden, you violate your listeners’ rights
an ethical goal should be socially responsible
o a socially responsible goal is one that gives the listener choices,
whereas an irresponsible, unethical goal is psychologically coercive
o if your overall objective is to inform or persuade, it is probably ethical;
if your goal is to coerce or manipulate, it is unethical
Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have at times limited free speech that
incites sedition (an illegal action inciting resistance to lawful authority and
tending to cause the disruption or overthrow of the government), violence,
and riot, but they have also protected free speech rights “for both the ideas
that people cherish and the thoughts they have”
Using Sound Evidence and Reasoning
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ethical speakers use critical-thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation to
draw conclusions and formulate arguments
o unethical speakers substitute false claims and manipulation of
emotion for evidence and logical arguments
o it is sometimes tempting to resort to false claims to gain power over
others, but it is also unethical to do so
o some speakers bypass sound evidence and reasoning in order to make
their conclusions more provocative
o share with an audience all information that might help them reach a
sound decision, including information that may be potentially
damaging to your case
 even if you proceed to refute the opposing evidence and
arguments, you have fulfilled your ethical responsibility be
presenting the perspective of the other side
 you can actually make your own arguments more convincing
by anticipating and answering counter-arguments and
evidence
Be Sensitive and Tolerant of Differences
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being audience-centered requires that you become as aware as possible of
others’ feelings, needs, interests, and backgrounds
accommodation is sensitivity to the feelings, needs, interests, and
backgrounds of other people
o it does not mean that speakers must abandon their own convictions
for those of their audience members
o it does mean that speakers should demonstrate a willingness to listen
to opposing viewpoints and learn about different beliefs and values
 such a willingness not only communicates respect, it can also
help a speaker to select a topic, formulate a purpose, and
design strategies to motivate an audience
a speaker who is sensitive to differences also avoids language that might be
interpreted as in any way biased or offensive
Be Honest
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knowingly offering false or misleading information to an audience is an
ethical violation
o a seeming exception to the dictum to avoid false information is the use
of hypothetical illustrations – illustrations that never actually
occurred but that might happen
o many speakers rely on such illustrations to clarify or enhance their
speeches
honesty also requires that speakers give credit for ideas and information that
are not their own
o presenting the words and ideas of others without crediting them is
called plagiarism
Don’t Plagiarize
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plagiarism, basically, is to steal ideas
o a less obvious form of plagiarism is plagiaphrasing – failing to give
credit for compelling phrases taken from another source
another way speakers sometimes try to shortcut the speech preparation task
is to ask another person to edit a speech so extensively that it becomes more
that other person’s work than their own
o this is another form of plagiarism, as well as another way of cheating
themselves out of the skills they need to develop
acknowledge your sources: if you decide to use any of the following in your
speech, you must give credit to the sources:
o direct quotations, even if they are only brief phrases
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o opinions, assertions, or ideas of others, even if you paraphrase them
rather than quote them verbatim
o statistics
o any nonoriginal visual materials, including graphs, tables, and
pictures
be careful and systematic in your note-taking
o indicate with quotation marks any phrases or sentences that you
photocopy or copy by hand verbatim from a source, and be sure to
record the author, title, publisher, or Web site, publication date, and
page numbers for all sources from which you take quotations, ideas,
statistics, or visual materials
know how to cite sources for your audience, both orally and in writing
o an oral citation is the oral presentation of such information about a
source as the author, title, and year of publication
o a written citation is the written presentation of such information
about a source such as the author, title, and year of publication,
usually formatted according to a conventional style guide
a good rule is this: when in doubt, document
o you will never be guilty of plagiarism if you document something you
didn’t need to, but you could be committing plagiarism if you do not
document something you really should have
Listening Ethically
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as an audience member, you have the right and responsibility to enter
a communication situation with expectations about both the message
and how the speaker will deliver it
o expect a coherent, organized, and competently delivered
presentation
o communicate your objectives and react to the speaker’s
message and delivery through appropriate nonverbal and
verbal feedback
 nod in agreement when you support something the
speaker says
 look puzzled if you do not understand
 communicate if you cannot hear
o if a question-and-answer period follows the speech, ask
questions you may still have about the speaker’s topic or point
of view
Be Sensitive and Tolerant of Differences
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it is equally important for you to exercise social and cultural
awareness and tolerance as a member of an audience
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understanding diverse cultural norms can sometimes pose quite a
complex ethical-listening challenge
be attentive and courteous
consider diverse cultural norms and audience expectations as part of
the context within which you listen to and evaluate the speaker
making an effort to understand the needs, goals, and interests of both
the speaker and other audience members can help you judge how to
react appropriately and ethically as a listener
Listen Critically
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courtesy and tolerance are not always the same as approval and agreement
to listen critically is to hold a speaker to his or her ethical responsibilities
o is the speaker presenting both sides of the issue?
o is the speaker disclosing all the information to which he or she has
access?
o is the speaker trying to hide something?
o is the speaker being honest about the purpose of the speech?
if there is a chance that you may have misunderstood the speaker, take
advantage of opportunities after the speech to question him or her
o read more about the topic yourself to check the speaker’s facts
although you can and should refuse to sanction unethical messages and
tactics, seek ways to question and refute ideas and arguments without being
discourteous or resorting to unethical tactics yourself