Course Name: O0154 Public Speaking

Session 7
Ethic and Public Speaking
Ethic and Public Speaking

• The importance Ethics

• Guidelines for Ethical Speaking
• Plagiarism
• Consider these 8 ethical points in preparing your speeches

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The importance Ethics, Guidelines for Ethical Speaking and
Plagiarism
• Ethics (according to the American Heritage Dictionary) are a set
of moral principles. They especially are principles relating to or
affirming a specified group, field, or form of conduct.

• Public speaking and those who attain mastery of public

speaking have both mores and ethics they must follow. Failure
to follow these could cost their credibility and future ability to
speak.

• The damage a speaker can do because of not having their

ethics in check means that the standards need to be even
higher. 4
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• Ethics in public speaking are important because of the
tremendous influence one can exert with words alone. Consider
Hitler - his speeches began some of the greatest atrocities the
world has ever seen.
Consider these 8 ethical points in preparing your speeches :

1. Don't plagarize. If someone else said it, tell your audience

that they said it. Give credit where credit is due.

2. Never mislead. Perhaps the clearest of ethical points, even

this can get murky sometimes. Misrepresenting statistics is an
obvious twist of the truth, but what about not mentioning
minor product defects? You'll always have to use your
judgement, but never, ever intentionally mislead an audience.5
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3. Prepare well. Not only will preparing well improve your
speech, good preparation is also an ethical necessity. Without
adequate research, it's easy to unintentionally distort the truth.
Look into all facts and statistics; assess all claims for their
validity. Prepare so that you can adequately answer any
questions that your audience may have. Record your sources
and be ready to give them if asked.

4. Use sound reasoning. It's easy to make illogical and unsound

things sound good with pretty turns-of-phrase. Don't do it.
Support your claims with evidence and clear logic.

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5. Tell the whole story. "A little learning is a dangerous thing;
drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow
draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us
again" (Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism).

6. Consider the consequence. What will the consequences of

your speech be? Even if everything you say is complete and
true, consequences still matter. Telling one person that they
could get an extra line of credit might open up new business
opportunities; telling another might lead to his.

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7. Respect yourself. Don't try to defend something you don't
believe in. Be consistent with your own beliefs.

8. Respect your audience. Don't try to fool them. Don't ever

speak down to them. Avoid racial slurs, ethnic jokes, and other
potentially offensive content.

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• The Most Important Ethics in Public Speaking
• Be truthful, honest and accurate in presenting your
qualifications and experience.

• Be ethical and professional in actions and business practice.

• You never would want to do anything that would discredit

yourself, the profession of public speaking or or other public
speakers. This requires consequential thinking :
("if I do this, what will the consequences be").

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• Try to understand the organization you will represent and the
audience needs.

• You will need to know the approaches, goals and cultures of

the those you will be speaking for and using speaker skills and
expertise to meet those specific needs.

• Be original, both in speech and writing or, if using material

from another speaker or writer, have approval (in writing) and
give credit. Using the material of another is usually limited to
stories, illustrations and anecdotes.

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• Have and maintain a relationship of shared responsibility and
respect, dignity and professional courtesy, and the highest
ethical standards with other speakers.

• Maintain the highest ethical standards and practices and to

help protect audiences from fraud or unfair practices from the
speaking profession. Additionally, great speakers try to
eliminate practices that bring discredit to the speaking
profession.

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• Great public speakers do not take part in any arrangement or
pursuits that would prevent or limit other speakers access to
the market place, a client or the public.

• Public speaking and ethics includes not limiting others by

means of economic, race, ethnicity, creed, color, sex, age,
sexual orientation, disability, religion, or nationality

• Within the NSA (The National Speakers Association ) code of

ethics is a purpose statement are important reasons for the
code. Professionalism, dedication, integrity and honesty no-
doubt would seem to be obvious ethical standards.
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• What makes us trust a speaker or believe that he or she is a
reliable source?
• Whom can we trust to have our best interests at heart? Let's
look at some practical ways a speaker can maintain and
enhance credibility.
• Act in ways consistent with the message of the
presentation. This can be as simple as showing concern in tone
of voice and facial expression when talking about an issue that
is facing the company. Acting disinterested or unconcerned
when presenting bad news can offend your listeners. Showing
enthusiasm in delivery by quicker movements, more variety,
and a faster rate of speech when reading an exciting climax of a
positive presentation can produce the same enthusiasm in your
audience. 13
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• Good preparation is an ethical requirement as well as a
practical one.
• Your audience has given you time and an opportunity, and
audience members deserve to hear your best effort.

• That only comes through careful preparation. If the audience

can tell you didn't prepare for them specifically, they will feel
betrayed and won't respond positively to your message.

• Thus the executive should start preparing several days or weeks

before an important presentation is delivered. It is hard to cram
for a speech, and the audience can tell when preparation has
not been adequate.
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• Show respect for your audience. Don't insult your audience
in any way. Racial slurs and profanity are obviously unethical,
but in addition, don't show disrespect for people's gender,
backgrounds, positions, appearances, or nationalities. Don't
put people down because of their lack of knowledge of a
topic; sometimes their lack of information is the very reason
you have been asked to speak. Don't embarrass any member
of your audience. Don't play a joke on anyone without
seeking permission first. Even if you do receive permission,
playing a joke on an audience member can backfire because
the rest of your group might become fearful they will bear
the brunt of your next joke, causing them to lose trust in you.
Poke fun at yourself instead.
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• Base your conclusions in your presentation on clear
evidence. Support your assertions with relevant facts,
statistics, and testimony. Keep track of your sources and be
ready to produce them if an audience member has a question.
Don't make assertions you can't support or justify. The New
Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation, that whatever support
you use should be able to satisfy the "universal audience" -
that group of all reasonable, rational people. In your outline
each major point should show a variety of evidence. If that is
not the case, then eliminate the point or, if it fits, place the
evidence with another point you are making.

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• Choose topics that are consistent with your personal
beliefs. Pick topics important to you that you live out on a
daily basis. You might be able to craft effective speeches
advocating views you do not agree with, but you will be
much more effective and ethical if you advocate opinions
you actually hold. If you advocate a position which is not
something you feel completely comfortable with, this will be
communicated to your audience by your delivery style. In
choosing material for your presentation, one major criterion
is how strongly you feel about the point or support. This is
an excellent way to cut out materials when you have more
content than time allotted.

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• Respect the time of your audience. Know what time you are
expected to finish - and finish at that time. It is an insult to
your audience members and an abuse of your opportunity to
speak to keep them ten, fifteen, or thirty minutes more than
what is expected of you.

• All of these ethical principles can be condensed to one, a

"golden rule" of speaking ethics: Treat each audience member
as you would like to be treated if you were in your audience.

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