Ethics in Public Speaking

1. Ethics in public speaking is to help us determine what is moral or immoral, fair or unfair, just or unjust, honest or dishonest, right or wrong.

A. Guidelines for ethical behavior in public speaking. 1)public speaking has power (Hitler, President, etc). 2)speakers must evaluate whether their speech is ethically sound. 3)prepare your speech (not to give wrong info or waste listeners time. 4)speaker should be honest in what they say. a)don't juggle statistics. b)telling lies. 5)avoid name calling and other abusive language.

2. Plagiarism

A. Definition: presenting another person's work or ideas as your own.

B. Plagiarism is serious. 1)in the classroom, punished by failing grade or even kicked out of school. 2)outside classroom, it can damage the speaker's reputation or career.

C. Three types of plagiarism 1)Global plagiarism: taking an entire speech or work and passing it off as one's own. 2)Patchwork plagiarism: using two or more sources and passing it off as one's own. 3)incremental plagiarism: failing to give credit for a specific part of the speech either a quote or paraphrasing.

3. Listeners have ethical obligations

A. Listeners should be courteous and attentive

B. Don't pre-judge a speaker

C. Have a free and open expression of ideas (don't be closed minded.)