CHAPTER 2

PUBLIC SPEAKING

PUBLIC SPEAKING

aims to elicit a response while carrying ethical responsibilities. Quintilian emphasized the importance of ethical speechmaking for the good person. This chapter delves into the significance of ethics in public speaking, ethical obligations of speakers and listeners, and the issues of plagiarism prevention.

ETHICS

branch of philosophy that deals with issues of right and wrong in human affairs. Questions of ethics arise whenever we ask whether a course of action is normal or immoral, fair or unfair, just or unjust, honest or dishonest. (In short, it deals with issues of right and wrong in human affairs)

PLATO

As the Greek Philosopher noted, all public speakers would be truthful and devoted to the good of society. Yet, history tells us that the power of speech is often abused – sometimes with disastrous results.

ETHICAL DECISION

involve weighing potential course of action against a set of ethical standards or guidelines.

GUIDELINES FOR ETHICAL SPEAKING

1. Make sure your goals are ethically sound.

2. Be fully prepared for each speech.

3. Be honest in what you say.

4. Avoid name-calling and other forms of abusive language.

5. Put ethical principles into practice.

Make sure your goals are ethically sound

Your first responsibility as a speaker is to ask whether your goals are ethically sound. Before crafting your speech, assess whether your objectives are ethical. This means your goal should be honest, respectful, and aimed at benefiting your audience rather than manipulating or misleading them.

Be fully prepared for each speech.

Proper preparation is crucial. This involves researching your topic comprehensively, considering all viewpoints, and organizing your content effectively because being well–prepared shows respect for your audience and assurance that your information is accurate and reliable.

Be honest in what you say

Maintain trust by presenting truthful and accurate information. Avoid misleading practices like: Juggling Statistics, Quoting out of context, Misrepresenting sources, Presenting Tentative Findings as Facts.

Avoid name-calling and other forms of abusive language.

Words can leave lasting psychological scars, similar to physical harm. Ethical speakers must refrain from using language that degrades or insults others. As one writer explains, “Our identities, who and what we are, how others see us, are greatly affected by the names we are called and the words with which we are labeled.”

NAME-CALLING

It is the use of language to defame, demean, or degrade individuals or groups. Such terms have been used to debase people because of their sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and ethnic background. 

EPITHETS

– words such as “fag”, “kike”, “nigger”, “honkey”, “wop”, “jap”, “chink”, and “spic” are harmful and perpetuate prejudice.

Put ethical principles into practice

Ethics require consistent action, not just empty words. As one popular book on ethics states, “Being ethical means behaving ethically all the time – not only when it is convenient”.

PLAGIARISM

comes from plagiarius, the Latin word for kidnapper. To plagiarize means to present another person’s language or ideas as your own – to give the impression you have written or thought yourself when you have actually taken it from someone else. (In short, – presenting another person’s language or ideas as one’s own.)

Kinds of Plagiarism

1. Global plagiarism

2. Patchwork plagiarism

3. Incremental plagiarism

Global plagiarism.

The most blatant – and unforgivable – kind of plagiarism. It is grossly unethical. It is stealing your speech entirely from another source and passing it off as your own. 

Patchwork plagiarism.

occurs when a speaker plagiarizes from two or three sources.

Incremental plagiarism.

It is when the entire speech is cribbed more or less verbatim from a single source or a few sources. It occurs when the speaker fails to give credit for particular parts – increments – of the speech that are borrowed from other people.

Quotations.

Whenever you quote someone directly, you must attribute the words to that person. It would make a strong addition to your speech as long as you acknowledge the owners/authors.

Paraphrases.

When you paraphrase an author, you restate or summarize her or his in your own words. You need to acknowledge the author or the person because still, with just a fair amount of his/her language, you are still using his/her opinions, ideas, and judgment.

GUIDELINES FOR ETHICAL LISTENING

1. Be courteous and attentive.

2. Avoid prejudging the speaker.

3. Maintain the free and open expression of ideas.

Be courteous and attentive.

Listeners have a responsibility to be courteous and attentive during the speech.

Avoid prejudging the speaker.

Do not judge a speech by the name, race, lifestyle, appearance, or reputation of the speaker. Your aim is to listen carefully to the speaker’s ideas, to assess the evidence and reasoning offered in support of those ideas, and to reach an intelligent judgement about the speech.

Maintain the free and open expression of ideas.

A democratic society depends on the free and open expression of ideas. So listeners have an obligation to maintain the right of speakers to be heard.