1.2 Ethics and Public Speaking

 Text : Stephen E. Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, McGraw Hill

• The importance of ethics
• Guidelines for ethical speaking
• Plagiarism
• Guidelines for ethical listening
• The importance of ethics

Ethics:  The branch of philosophy that deals with issues of right and wrong in human affairs. 

1. Questions of ethics arise whenever we ask whether a cause of action moral or immoral, fair or unfair, just or unjust, honest or dishonest. Ex: Students cheating on exam

2. Questions of ethics also come into play whenever a public speaker faces an audience.
Ex: Adolf Hitler

Guidelines for ethical speaking  

1. Make sure your goals are ethically sound 

Ex: Accepting a project which harmful to health (Cigarette company)

2. Be fully prepared for each speech 

“A speech is a solemn responsibility you have an obligation to yourself and to your listeners”- Jenkin Lloyd Jones-
A bad 30 minutes speech to an audience of 200 people. (100 hours)Ex: Suicide prevention speech (To save someone’s life)

2. Be honest in what you say

• Should avoid the dishonesty in public speaking
• Juggling statistics (False data)
• Quoting out of context
• Misrepresenting the sources od facts and figures
• Painting tentative (Temporary/uncertain) findings as a firm conclusion
• Portraying a few details as the whole story
• Citing unusual cases as typical example 

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

“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”
1.Name calling and Personal dignity : Use of language to defame, demean, or degrade individuals or groups. Ex: Creating some name for a group.(Nigger, kike, jap, chink,)

2. Name Calling and Free speech: A public speaker should have an obligation to preserve the freedom of speech right by avoiding tactics. (Name-calling).
Also should have an ethical responsibility to avoid name-calling and tactics that harm the free and open expression of ideas.  

5. Put ethical principles into practice

• It’s easy to tell everything and but hard to act ethically.
• “Being ethical means behaving ethically all the time- not only when it’s convenient.”
• Is my choice of topic suitable for the audience?
• Are my supporting materials clear and convincing?
• How can I phrase my ideas to give them more punch?
• Be a responsible person for your audience’s questions and doubts.

Plagiarism

                                                                                                                                          (Google image)

• “Plagiarism” comes from plagiarius, the Latin word for Kidnapper.
• Presenting another person’s language or ideas as one’s own.
• To impress your audience you take some ideas and thoughts from outside and present it as your own.

(Google image)

Types of Plagiarism 

 1.Global Plagiarism : Stealing a speech entirely from a single source and passing it off as one’s own. Ex: Students' assignment

                                                                                                                                         (Google image)
2. Patchwork Plagiarism :Stealing ideas or language from two or three sources and passing them off as one’s own.

3. Incremental  Plagiarism : It occurs when the speaker fails to give credit for particular parts- increments-of the speech that are borrowed from other people. Ex: Quotations, Paraphrases (Restate or summarize an author’s ideas in one’s own words

Plagiarism and the internet

It’s very easy to copy information from the Web.
Need to give site sources when use internet materials in the speeches.

Way to avoid patchwork or incremental plagiarism when working with internet is to take careful research notes. 

• The title of the internet document 
• The author or organization responsible for the document 
• The document's last update's date 
• The address of the website 
• Your accessed date

Guidelines for ethical Listening

1.Be courteous and attentive
2.Avoid prejudging the speaker
3.Maintain the free and open expression of ideas

1.1 Speaking in Public

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Text : Stephen E. Lucas, The Art of Public Speaking, McGraw Hill

• Public Speaking: is a way of making your ideas public- of sharing them with other people and of influencing other people. 
• It is a way to express your ideas and to have an impact on issues that matter in society.
• As a form of empowerment, it can –and often does- make a difference in things people care about very much.
• Public speaking is the first and foremost personal quality that everyone needs for their career development. (It will decide whether you can be hired or not, promoted or not).

Similarities between public speaking and conversation

Good conversation is the initial stage for public speaking.
1. Organizing your thoughts logically:              
         Ex: directing your friend to get to your house.

2. Tailoring your message to your audience:     
         Ex: Explaining about how pearls are formed to two different people.

3. Telling a story for maximum impact:
         Ex: telling a friend about a funny incident at last class.

4. Adapting to listener feedback:
     Ex: when your listener asks you to repeat the points and explain more clearly, giving feedback to your friends.

Differences between public speaking and conversation

1. Public speaking is more highly structured:

• Strict time limitation
• No interruptions by audiences' question or commentary
• Speaker’s should accomplish his or her purpose
• More planning & preparation than ordinary conversation.

2. Public speaking requires more formal language:

• Little space for slang, jargon & bad grammar in public speaking
• Bad language often creates the negative impact on speaker and his or her speaking too.
• Public speaking should be special and unique.

3. Public speaking requires a different method of delivery:

In conversation- quite talk, interject stock phrases (like, you know, adopt a casual posture, use vocal pauses “um, ah,)

Developing Confidence in speech class

1. Nervousness is normal 

Dealing with nervousness- positive nervousness.

• Acquire speaking experiences
• Prepare , prepare, prepare (Truly care speech topic)
• Think positively
• Use the power of visualization

Visualization: mental image in which a speaker vividly pictures himself of herself giving a successful presentation.

• Know that most nervousness is not visible
• Don’t expect perfection (Martin Luther King’s Speech – I have a dream)

Public speaking and Critical thinking

Public speaking often helps to improve critical thinking skill.
Critical Thinking: focused, organized thinking about such things as the logical relationship among ideas, the soundness of evidence, and the differences between fact and opinion.