S
EthicsThe difference between
what you have a right to do and what is right to do. –Potter Stewart
Ethos
Credibility as a speaker Aristotle defined it as “good sense and good will
but also good morals.” How important is ethos? How is it created?
Examples of broken trust
http://www.newsadvance.com/opinion/cartoons/trump-truthhttp://quotesgram.com/impeachment-quotes/
Pros and Cons of Ethical Speaking
Responsible decision making
Relationship building
Truthfulness
Respect
Accuracy
Poor decision making
Lack of respect
Lack of trust
Broken relationships individually and societally
Morality versus Ethics
Ethics: deciding what’s right and wrong Morality: choosing what’s right to do in an ethical dilemma For example, stealing a loaf of bread to feed a starving
child
Is compassion greater than truth? Does the ends justifies the means?
• http://quotesgram.com/les-miserables-jean-valjean-quotes/
Most important aspects of ethical speaking
Honesty while avoiding plagiarism Setting and meeting responsible speech goals
Honesty
Identify sources 3 different types of plagiarism
Global: direct copy without attribution Patchwork: a few key words changed but essentially
same Incremental: no citation or recognition of quoted info
Citation guidelines Purdue OWL
Ways to use sources
Summarize: general gist. Most general. Paraphrase: focusing on specific passage or
information. Rewrite with own words and sentence structure
Direct quotation: when exact words matter
Practice
Read the article and do the following: Write a summary of 50 words or less Paragraphrase this passage of paragraph 5: This inequity matters, the report concludes, because
“new research suggests that people are significantly happier living in societies where there is less inequality of happiness.” In other words, we can achieve only so much happiness if our neighbors are miserable. Which raises an intriguing question: Can you redistribute happiness?
Find a direct quote and pretend you are giving a speech where you can include it. Provide enough info so audience can locate source if needed
Responsible Speech Goals
Promote diversity: use gender-neutral language Use inclusive language: “you” versus “we” Avoid hate speech Raise social awareness Use respectful free speech
Ethical listening and feedback
Non-verbals: respectful posture, eye contact,
Critical mindset: absorb and analyze
Fair-minded: listen to whole argument without pre-judging
Respect author’s position while politely and honestly voicing own beliefs
Includes praise and constructive feedback
Use “I” statements: “You’re speech was too short.” “I would’ve liked to know more
about that moment when…”
http://www.smudailycampus.com/lifestyle/health/college-students-and-sleeping-problems
Ethical communication dilemmas Pick on of the following scenarios below and discuss with your group. What
are the ethical issues? How should you react? #1. You and your partners have been working on your final presentation for
weeks. It is due the next day when you find out that some of the data you included is wrong. It’s unlikely anyone, including your group members or the professor, will notice. What should you do?
#2. You attend a political debate on campus. The candidate’s speech contains many ideas that you don’t agree with. How can you be an ethical listener during the speech?
#3. You are preparing to give a speech on a topic and realize that you have lost the citation information for one of your important sources. You can’t seem to find this source again. What would you do to ethically prepare for the speech?
#4. When practicing your speech on influential sports figures, you realize that you refer to the audience, your co-ed classmates, quite often as “you guys.” Is this ethical language use? What changes would you make?