speech on topic ethics and etiquette

Speech on Ethics

Ethics, in simple terms, is knowing what’s right and wrong. It’s like a compass guiding you in life.

You face ethical choices every day. Being ethical means making decisions that are fair and just.

1-minute Speech on Ethics

Good day to all!

Let’s talk about ethics. Think of ethics as the rules we follow to be good people. These are the guidelines that help us decide what’s right and what’s wrong.

Now, ethics are like an invisible thread that ties us all together. They help us respect each other. When we follow ethics, we are fair and honest. We treat people kindly, even when no one is watching.

But why are ethics important? Imagine a world where everyone only cared about themselves. Would you like to live there? Probably not! Ethics make our world a better place. They ensure we live in harmony and peace.

Remember, ethics start with you. It’s about making good choices, even when it’s tough. It’s about being brave to stand up for what’s right. It’s about being the best person you can be.

Lastly, it’s never too early or too late to learn about ethics. Like a seed, the more we nurture it, the more it grows. So, let’s make a promise today. Let’s promise to be ethical in all we do. Let’s promise to make our world a better place.

Also check:

• Essay on Ethics

2-minute Speech on Ethics

Good day to you all! Today, we’re going to talk about ethics. Now, what is ethics? It’s like a big invisible rule book that tells us what’s right and what’s wrong. It helps us to make good choices, and to be fair and kind to others.

The first thing to understand about ethics is that it’s not the same for everyone. What might be right for me might not be right for you. This is because we all come from different backgrounds, and we all see the world in different ways. But, that doesn’t mean we can’t agree on some basic rules. For example, we can all agree that it’s wrong to hurt others or to lie.

Now, why is ethics important? Well, imagine a world where no one cares about right or wrong. It would be a scary place, wouldn’t it? But with ethics, we can create a world that is safe and just. Ethics helps us to treat each other with respect and dignity. It makes us better people, and it makes our communities stronger.

But, ethics is not just about big things. It’s also about the small choices we make every day. For example, if you find a wallet on the street, what do you do? Do you keep it, or do you try to find the owner? These small choices tell a lot about who we are as people.

Sometimes, being ethical can be hard. It can mean standing up for what’s right, even when it’s not popular. It can mean saying no to something that might benefit us, but harm others. But remember, the easy choice is not always the right choice.

In conclusion, ethics is a vital part of our lives. It guides us in our actions and decisions, and helps us to build a world that is fair and kind. So, let’s strive to be ethical in all that we do. Let’s be the change we want to see in the world.

Thank you for listening. I hope this talk has helped you to understand ethics a little better. Remember, it’s not just about knowing what’s right or wrong. It’s about having the courage to do what’s right, even when it’s hard. Let’s make our world a better place, one ethical choice at a time.

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10.2: Professionalism, Etiquette, and Ethical Behaviour

Learning objectives.

2. Explain the importance of ethics as part of the persuasion process.

3. Define and provide examples of sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as strategies for how to eliminate it.

4. Identify and provide examples of eight common fallacies in persuasive speaking.

5. ENL1813 Course Learning Requirement 2: Plan and deliver short, organized spoken messages and oral reports tailored to specific audiences and purposes. (A2, B2, H2, I2, M2, S2, T2)

i. Use effective and engaging language and non-verbal behaviours (A2.2) ii. Use verbal and nonverbal techniques to enhance spoken messages (I2.4, M2.4, R6.2, S2.4, T2.4)

From the moment we started considering what communication skills employers desire (see §1.1.2 above) onwards throughout this guide, we’ve been examining aspects of professional behaviour. A recurring theme has been the importance of being nice. The logic is that, if you’re nice and the people you work with and for like you because they feel that they can trust you and are productive when you collaborate with them, you’ll keep your job and be presented with attractive new opportunities. In this section we’ll look closer at behaviours that will get you liked and open doors for you.

Professionalism, Etiquette, and Ethical Behaviour Topics

10.2.1: Professional Behaviour in the Workplace

10.2.2: business etiquette, 10.2.3: respectful workplaces in the #metoo era, 10.2.4: speaking ethically and avoiding fallacies.

We’ve said from the beginning that professional communication must always cater to the audience. This is true especially in face-to-face interactions where, unlike with written communication, you can assess audience reaction in real time and adjust your message accordingly. This places the responsibility of behaving professionally in the workplace solely on you. When we speak of professional behaviour, we mean the following aspects that generally fall under the banner of soft skills:

• Social Intelligence
• Emotional Intelligence
• Social Graces

We’ll consider these aspects in more detail throughout this subsection, but first we’ll spend some time on the personality traits of successful professionals.

We must be careful with how we define success when we speak of personality, however. Those who lack the soft skills associated with the above aspects are difficult to work with and are usually demoted or fired. In rare instances, cruel, selfish, arrogant, narcissistic, or sociopathic people rise to positions of power through a combination of enablers tolerating or even rewarding their anti-social behaviour and their own lying, cheating, and bullying. This is an unfortunate reality that’s difficult to watch, but it’s important that the rest of us avoid being enablers. It’s also important that we don’t let their bad example lead us into thinking that such behaviour is right. It isn’t, and the proof is the suffering it spreads among people in their sphere of influence. For every horrible person who moves up the corporate ladder, there’ll be a trail of broken, bitter, and vengeful people in their wake. The loathing most people feel towards such people proves the importance of conducting ourselves otherwise.

10.2.1.1: The Five Qualities of a Successful Professional

A persistent idea within the field of psychology is that there are five basic personality traits, often known as the “Big Five” or by the acronyms OCEAN or CANOE. Each trait contains within it a sliding scale that describes how we behave in certain situations. The five are as follows:

• Openness to experience: curious and innovative vs. cautious and consistent
• Conscientiousness : goal-driven and detail-oriented vs. casual and careless
• Extraversion : outgoing and enthusiastic vs. solitary and guarded
• Agreeableness : cooperative and flexible vs. defiant and stubborn
• Neuroticism : anxious and volatile vs. confident and stable

Except for neuroticism, most of the traits as named correlate with professional success. Researchers have found that successful people are generally organized, innovative, outgoing, cooperative, and stable, although extraverts don’t do as well as introverts on individual tasks and agreeableness doesn’t necessarily lead to a high salary ( Spurk & Abele, 2010 ; Neal et al., 2011 ).

Blending these with Guffey, Loewy, and Almonte’s six dimensions of professional behaviour in Essentials of Business Communication (2016) and putting our own spin on these ideas, Table 10.2.1.1 below presents a guide for how generally to be successful in your job, how to be well liked, and how to be happy. Consider it also a checklist for how to be a decent human being.

Table 10.2.1.1: The Five Qualities of a Successful Professional

Source: Guffey, Loewy, & Almonte (2016, p. 309: Figure 10.1)

10.2.1.2: Civility

Civility simply means behaving respectfully towards everyone you interact with. Being civilized means following the golden rule: treat others as you expect to be treated yourself. The opposite of civility is being rude and aggressive, which creates conflict and negatively affects productivity in the workplace because it creates a so-called chilly climate or a toxic work environment. Such a workplace makes people uncomfortable, miserable, or angry—not emotions normally conducive to people doing their best work.

10.2.1.3: Social Intelligence

In the decades you’ve been immersed in the various cultures you’ve passed through, you’ve come to understand the (often unspoken) rules of decent social interaction. Having social intelligence means following those rules to cooperate and get along with others, especially in conversation. This includes reading nonverbal cues so that you know:

• How and when to initiate conversation
• When it’s your turn to speak and when to listen in order to keep a conversation going
• What to say and what not say
• How to say what you mean in a manner that will be understood by your audience
• When and how to use humour effectively and when not to
• How and when to end conversation gracefully

People who lack social intelligence, perhaps because they missed opportunities to develop conversational skills in their formative school years, come off as awkward in face-to-face conversation. They typically fail to interpret correctly nonverbal cues that say “Now it’s your turn to speak” or “Okay, I’m done with this conversation; let’s wrap it up.” It’s difficult to interact with such people either because they make you do all the work keeping the conversation going or don’t let you speak and keep going long after you wanted it to stop, forcing you to be slightly rude in ending it abruptly. Like any other type of intelligence, however, social intelligence can be developed through an understanding of the principles of good conversation (see §10.1 above) and practice.

10.2.1.5: Emotional Intelligence

Like social intelligence, emotional intelligence (EI) involves being a good reader of people in social contexts, being able to distinguish different emotions, and knowing what to do about them with regard to others and yourself. Strong EI means knowing how a person is likely to react to what you’re about to say and adjusting your message accordingly, and then adjusting again according to how they actually react. Though we often hide our inner emotional state—smiling and looking happy when we’re feeling down, or wearing a neutral “poker face” to mask our excitement—in professional situations, EI enables us to get a sense of what others are actually feeling despite how they appear. It involves reading subtle nonverbal signals such as eye movements, facial expressions and fleeting micro-expressions (Ekman, 2017) , posture, hands, and body movements for how they betray inner feelings different from the outward show. Beyond merely reading people, however, EI also requires knowing how to act, such as empathizing when someone is upset—even if they’re trying to hide it and show strength—because you recognize that you would be upset yourself if you were in their position (see §10.5.3.4 below for more on empathy).

Every interaction you have is coloured by emotion—both yours and the person or people you interact with. Though most routine interactions in the workplace are on the neutral-to-positive end of the emotional spectrum, some dip into the red—anywhere from slightly upset and a little sad to downright furious or suicidal. Whether you keep those emotions below the surface or let them erupt like a volcano depends on your self-control and the situation. Expressing such emotions in the workplace requires the good judgment represented by the 3 T’s :

• Tact: Recognizing that what you say has a meaningful impact, tact involves the careful choice of words to achieve intended effects. In a sensitive situation where your audience is likely to be upset, for instance, tact requires that you use calming and positive words to reduce your message’s harmful impact (see §8.3 above on negative messages). When you’re upset, tact likewise involves self-restraint so that you don’t unleash the full fury of what you’re feeling if it would be inappropriate. When emotions are running high, it’s important to recognize that they are just thoughts that come and go, and that you may need some additional time to process information when you’re in a different emotional state before communicating about it.
• Timing: There’s a time and place for expressing your emotions. Expressing your anger when you’re at the height of your fury might be a bad move if it moves you to say things you’ll later regret. Waiting to cool down so that you can tactfully express your disappointment will get the best results if it’s an important matter. If it’s a trivial matter, however, waiting to realize that it’s not worth the effort can save you the trouble of dealing with the fallout of a strong and regrettable reaction.
• Trust: You must trust that the person you share your feelings with will respect your privacy and keep whatever you say confidential or at least not use it against you.

By considering these 3 T’s, you can better manage the expression of your own emotions and those of the people you work with and for in the workplace ( Business Communication for Success , 2015, 14.6) .

Like those who lack social intelligence, those who lack emotional intelligence can often be difficult to work with and offensive, often without meaning to be. When someone fails to understand the emotional “vibe” of their audience (fails to “read the room”), we say that they are “tone deaf.” This can be a sign of immaturity because it takes years to develop EI through extensive socialization in your school years and beyond, including learning how and why people take offense to what you say. Someone who jokes openly about another’s appearance in front of them and an audience, for instance, either fails to understand the hurt feelings of the person who is the butt of the joke or doesn’t care. Either way, people like this are a liability in the workplace because their offense establishes an environment dominated by insecurity—where employees are afraid that they’ll be picked on as if this were the elementary school playground. They won’t do their best work in such a “chilly climate” or toxic environment.

10.2.1.6: Social Graces

Social graces include all the subtle behavioural niceties that make you likeable. They include manners such as being polite, etiquette (e.g., dining etiquette), and your style of dress and accessories. We will explore most of these in the following section, but for now we can list some of the behaviours associated with social graces:

• Saying please when asking someone to do something
• Saying thank you when given something you accept
• Saying no, thank you, but thanks for the offer when offered something you refuse
• Complimenting someone for a something they’ve done well
• Speaking positively about others and refraining from negative comments
• Smiling often
• Being a good listener

Of course, there is much more to social graces, but let’s focus now on specific situations in which social graces are expressed.

Return to the Professionalism, Etiquette, and Ethical Behaviour Topics menu

Etiquette is a code of behaviour that extends to many aspects of how we present ourselves in social situations. We’ve examined this throughout this guide in specific written applications (e.g., using a well-mannered, courteous style of writing, such as saying please when asking someone to do something; see §4.5.2.5 ). Though we’ll examine specific applications of etiquette associated with various channels (e.g., telephone) throughout this chapter, we will here focus on dining etiquette and dress.

10.2.2.1: Dining Etiquette

If you are invited out for a lunch by a manager, it’s probably not just a lunch. They will assess how refined you are in your manners so that they know whether they can put you in front of clients doing the same and not embarrass the company. Though it may not be obvious, they’ll observe whether you use your utensils correctly, chew with your mouth closed, wait till your mouth is empty before speaking or cover your mouth with your hand if you must speak while chewing, and how you position your cutlery when you’re done. Why does any of this matter?

Though all of this seems like it has nothing to do with the quality of work, it shows the extent to which you developed fastidious habits and self-awareness. Someone who chews with their mouth open, for instance, either lacks the self-awareness to know that people tend to be disgusted by the sight of food being chewed, or doesn’t care what people think. Either way, that lack of self-awareness can lead to behaviours that will ruin their reputation, as well as that of the company they represent. The University of Kansas presents a handy Dining Etiquette (School of Business, 2001) for starters.

10.2.2.2: Dressing Appropriately for the Workplace

When we hear the word uniform , we often think of a very specific style such as what a police officer or nurse wears. In a general sense, however, we all wear uniforms of various styles in whatever professional or institutional environment we participate in. Dressing appropriately in those situations and in the workplace specifically has everything to do with meeting expectations. In an office environment, clients, coworkers, and managers expect to see employees in either suits or a business-casual style of dress depending on the workplace. In such situations, conformity is the order of the day, and breaking the dress code can be a serious infraction.

Though some infractions are becoming less serious in many places because the general culture is becoming more accepting of tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair as more and more people use these to express themselves, you might need to be careful. Consider the following points:

• Tattoos: Though a significant proportion of the population has tattoos and therefore they are more acceptable across the board, overly conspicuous tattoos are still considered taboo. Tattoos on the face, neck, or hands, for instance, are considered risky because of their association with prison and gang branding. Tattoos that can be covered by a long-sleeved shirt with a collar and slacks are a safe bet. However, if you have tattoos on your forearms depicting scenes of explicit sex or violence, consider either getting them removed or never rolling up your sleeves if you want to get hired and keep your job.
• Piercings: Of course, earrings are de rigueur for women and acceptable on men as well. However, earlobe stretching and piercings on the nasal septum or lips are still generally frowned upon in professional settings. Any serious body modification along these lines is acceptable in certain subcultures, but not in most workplaces.
• Dyed hair: As with tattoos and piercings, hair dye is becoming more acceptable generally, but extreme expression is inadvisable in any traditional workplace. Where customer expectations are rigid (e.g., in a medical office), seeing someone with bright pink hair will give the impression of an amateur operation rather than a legitimate health care facility.

Because conformity is the determining factor of acceptability in proper attire in any particular workplace, the best guide for how to dress when you aren’t given a specific uniform is what everyone else wears. Observe closely their style and build a wardrobe along those lines. If the fashion is slacks with a belt that matches the colour of your shoes and a long-sleeve, button-up, collared shirt for men and a full-length skirt and blouse for women, do the same (Feloni, Lee, & Cain, 2018) .

Most of what we’ve been saying in this chapter and throughout this guide focuses on how we should behave to be effective, respected professionals in our respective workplaces. Unfortunately, this isn’t what we always see in actual workplaces. Misbehaviour is rampant and is especially harmful when it’s harassment of a sexual nature. The broader culture took a hopeful step forward toward more respectful workplaces in 2017-2018 with the rise of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

Though initially a response to high-profile sexual assault cases in the entertainment industry where perpetrators often went unpunished for decades, #MeToo activists successfully brought the movement to the broader culture via social media. After the outrage of the former CBC Radio host Jian Ghomeshi’s acquittal for sexual assault charges (Gollom, 2016) , Canada was ripe for a cultural shift against its own issues with rape culture generally and toleration of sexual harassment in the workplace. Encouraged by a series of public accusations, firings, and resignations of prominent men in the entertainment, media, and political arenas throughout North America, women everywhere were encouraged to challenge widespread toleration of common sexual harassment and assault by reporting incidents to their employers and speaking out to shame everyday offenders in social media. For those who were unaware, it revealed the troubling extent of sexual harassment even in supposedly “nice” Canadian workplaces.

10.2.3.1: The Prevalence of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

10.2.3.2: What Is Sexual Harassment?

sexual harassment means any conduct, comment, gesture or contact of a sexual nature that is likely to cause offence or humiliation to any employee, or that might, on reasonable grounds, be perceived by that employee as placing a condition of a sexual nature on employment or on any opportunity for training or promotion. (Government of Canada, 1985, p. 214)

The Code clarifies that all employees have a right to conduct their work without being harassed (241.2), but what does that look like in practice?

For help with understanding what specific behaviours constitute sexual harassment, the City of Toronto’s Human Rights Office’s 2017 “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace” guide lists the following 21 examples of offenses that have had their day in court:

• Making unnecessary physical contact, including unwanted touching (e.g., stroking hair, demanding hugs, or rubbing a person’s back)
• Invading personal space
• Using language that puts someone down because of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression
• Using sex-specific derogatory names, homophobic or transphobic epithets, slurs, or jokes
• Leering or inappropriate staring
• Gender related comments about a person’s physical characteristics or mannerisms, comments that police or reinforce traditional heterosexual gender norms
• Targeting someone for not following sex-role stereotypes (e.g., comments made to a female for being in a position of authority)
• Showing or sending pornography, sexual images, etc. (e.g., pinning up an image of a naked man in the bathroom)
• Making sexual jokes, including forwarding sexual jokes by email
• Rough or vulgar language related to gender (e.g., “locker-room talk”)
• Spreading sexual rumours, “outing” or threatening to out someone who is LGBTQ2S (e.g., sending an email to colleagues about an affair between a supervisor and another employee)
• Making suggestive or offensive comments about members of a specific gender
• Sexually propositioning a person
• Bragging about sexual prowess
• Asking questions about sexual preferences, fantasies, or activities
• Demanding dates or sexual favours
• Verbally abusing, threatening, or taunting someone based on gender
• Threatening to penalize or punish a person who refuses to comply with sexual advances
• Intrusive comments, questions or insults about a person’s body, physical characteristics, gender-related medical procedures, clothing, mannerisms, or other forms of gender expression
• Refusing to refer to a person by their self-identified name or proper personal pronoun, or requiring a person to prove their gender
• Circulating or posting of homophobic, transphobic, derogatory or offensive signs, caricatures, graffiti, pictures, or other materials

The guide explains that any such behaviours involving professional colleagues in the physical or online workspace, as well as offsite outside of normal hours (e.g., work parties or community events), should be reported without fear of reprisal (City of Toronto, 2017, pp. 2-3) .

10.2.3.3: How to Make the Workplace More Respectful

Though the Canada Labour Code places the responsibility of ensuring a harassment-free workplace squarely on the employer (Provision 247.3), all employees must do their part to uphold one another’s right to work free of harassment. At the very least, everyone should avoid any of the 21 specific examples of sexual harassment listed above, even in the context of lighthearted banter. Employees everywhere should be held to a higher standard, however, which the HRPA advocates in the following recommendations:

• All companies must have a stand-alone sexual harassment and assault policy, as required by the Labour Code .
• All employees must familiarize themselves with their company’s sexual harassment policy, which should include guidance on how to report instances of harassment.
• All companies must conduct training sessions on their sexual harassment policy, including instruction on what to do when harassed or witnessing harassment, and all employees must participate.

Of course, experiencing harassment places the victim in a difficult position with regard to their job security, as does witnessing it and the duty to report. The situation is even more complicated if the perpetrator has the power to promote, demote, or terminate the victim’s or witness’s employment. If you find yourself in such a situation, seeking the confidential advice of an ombudsperson or person in a similar counselling role should be your first recourse. Absent these internal protections, consider seeking legal counsel.

If you witness sexual or other types of harassment, what should you do? The following guide may help:

• If it’s safe for you to do so, try recording video the incident on your smartphone. The mere presence of the phone may act as a deterrent to further harassment. If not, however, a record of the incident will be valuable in the post-incident pursuit of justice.
• If you can play any additional role in stopping the harassment before it continues, try to get the attention of the person being harassed and ask them if they want support and what exactly you can do.
• If it’s welcome from the victim and safe for both you and them, try to place yourself between them and the attacker. If the victim is handling the attack in their own way, respect their choice.
• If the harassment continues, try to de-escalate the situation non-violently by explaining to the offender that the one being harassed has a right to work in peace. Only resort to violence if it’s defensive.
• After a safe resolution, follow up with the person being harassed about what you can do for them (American Friends Service Committee, 2016) .

Of course, every harassment situation is different and requires quick-thinking action that maintains the safety of all involved. The important thing, however, is to be act as an ally to the person being harassed. The biggest takeaway from the development of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements is that a workplace culture that permits sexual harassment will only end if we all do our part to ensure that offenses no longer go unreported and unpunished.

When we discussed persuasive messages earlier (see §8.4 ), we focused on best practices without veering much into what’s considered offside in the art of persuasion. When we consider ethical behaviour in the workplace, it’s worth revisiting the topic of persuasion so that we can address how not to persuade. In other words, how can we avoid manipulating someone in professional situations so that they don’t later feel like they were taken advantage of.

In the context of communication, manipulation is the management of facts, ideas or points of view to play upon people’s insecurities or to use emotional appeals to one’s own advantage. Though emotional appeals were part of the rhetorical triangle discussed earlier in §8.4.1 , they cross the line into manipulation when motivated by an attempt to do something against the best interests of the audience, which expects that you treat them with respect. Deliberately manipulating them by inciting fear or guilt is unethical. Likewise, deception is unethical because it uses lies, partial truths, or the omission of relevant information to deceive. No one likes to be lied to or led to believe something that isn’t true. Deception can involve intentional bias or the selection of information to support your position while negatively framing any information that might challenge your audience’s belief.

Other unethical behaviours with respect to an audience such as a workplace team include coercion and bribery. Coercion is the use of power to make someone do something they would not choose to do freely. It usually involves threats of punishment, which get results at least while the “stick” is present, but results in hatred towards the coercing person or group and hence a toxic work environment. Bribery , which is offering something in return for an expected favour, is similarly unethical because it sidesteps normal, fair protocol for personal gain at the audience’s expense. When the rest of the team finds out that they lost out on opportunities because someone received favours for favours, an atmosphere of mistrust and animosity—hallmarks of a toxic work environment—hangs over the workplace.

10.2.4.1: Eleven Unethical Persuasive Techniques

Though you may be tempted to do anything to achieve the result of convincing someone to act in a way that benefits you and your company or organization, certain techniques are inherently unethical. The danger in using them is that they will be seen for what they are—dishonest manipulation—and you’ll lose all credibility rather than achieve your goal. Just as we have a set of DOs for how to convince someone effectively in a decent way, we also have a set of DON’Ts for what not to do.

In Ethics in Human Communication , Richard Johannesen (1996) offers eleven points to consider when speaking persuasively. Do not :

• Use false, fabricated, misrepresented, distorted or irrelevant evidence to support arguments or claims
• Intentionally use unsupported, misleading, or illogical reasoning
• Represent yourself as an “expert” (or even informed) on a subject when you’re not, as in the case of “ mansplaining ” (McClintock, 2016)
• Use irrelevant appeals to divert attention from the issue at hand
• Ask your audience to link your idea or proposal to emotion-driven values, motives, or goals to which it is unrelated
• Deceive your audience by concealing your real purpose, your self-interest, the group you represent, or your position as an advocate of a viewpoint
• Distort, hide, or misrepresent the number, scope, intensity, or undesirable features of consequences or effects
• Use “emotional appeals” that lack a supporting basis of evidence or reasoning
• Oversimplify complex, multi-layered, nuanced situations into simplistic, two-valued, either/or, polar views or choices
• Pretend certainty where tentativeness and degrees of probability would be more accurate
• Advocate for something that you yourself do not believe in

If you tried any of the above tricks and were found out by a critical-thinking audience, you risk irreparable damage to your reputation personally and that of your company.

Though you might think that the above guidelines wipe out most of a marketer’s available techniques, in fact they leave plenty of room for creative argument following the model for persuasive argument outlined in §8.4 above. After all, the goal of any such argument in a professional situation is to achieve a mutually beneficial result, one where both you and your audience benefit by getting something you both want or need in a free and honest exchange. Your audience will appreciate your fair dealing as you build your credibility (or ethos in the rhetorical triangle terminology introduced in §8.4.1 ).

10.2.4.2: Avoiding Fallacies

Logicians (experts on logic) have long pointed out a set of rhetorical tricks, called fallacies, that charlatans use to convince others of an argument that has no merit on its own. Though these fallacies are typically deceptive in nature, they still manage to convince many people in ways that undermine their own interests. Whenever you see anyone resorting to these tricks, you should probably be suspicious of what they’re selling or getting you to support. To be ethical in the way you present arguments in professional situations and steer clear of being held under suspicion by a critical audience yourself, avoid the eight fallacies explored below in Table 10.2.4.2.

Table 10.2.4.2: Logical Fallacies to Avoid

( Business Communication for Success , 2015, 14.6)

Avoiding such false logic helps strengthen your own argument by compelling you to stay within the bounds of sound argumentative strategies such as those covered above in §8.4 .

Key Takeaway

2. Deliver a short presentation on dining etiquette or how to dress for success in the workplace with clear recommendations for how your audience should conduct themselves (follow Ch. 12 on presentations beforehand).

3. Have you ever experienced or witnesses sexual harassment in a workplace or institution (e.g., at school) according to the definition and examples given in §10.2.3.2 ? What happened and what did you do about it? Would you do anything differently in hindsight?

4. Find an example of advertising that is unethical because it relies on logical fallacies and other deceptive techniques explored in §10.2.4 . Identify the fallacies or techniques and speculate on why the advertiser used them. Outline a more honest—yet still effective—advertisement for the same product or service.

American Friends Service Committee. (2016, December 2). Do’s and Don’ts for bystander intervention. Retrieved from https://www.afsc.org/resource/dos-and-donts-bystander-intervention

Barnes, E. (2018, January 20). Marchers in Baltimore. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65692582

City of Toronto. (2017, October). Sexual harassment in the workplace. Retrieved from https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/8eaa-workplace-sexual-harassment.pdf

Ekman, P. (2017, August 5). Micro expressions. Retrieved from https://www.paulekman.com/resources/micro-expressions/

Feloni, R., Lee, S., & Cain, Á. (2018, May 16). How to dress your best in any work environment, from a casual office to the boardroom. Business Insider . Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-dress-for-work-business-attire-2014-8

The Gandalf Group. (2017, December 12). The 49th quarterly C-suite survey. Retrieved from http://www.gandalfgroup.ca/downloads/2017/C-Suite%20Report%20Q4%20December%202017%20tc2.pdf

Gollom, M. (2016, March 24). Jian Ghomeshi found not guilty on choking and all sex assault charges. CBC News . Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/jian-ghomeshi-sexual-assault-trial-ruling-1.3505446

The Government of Canada. (1985). Canada labour code . Retrieved from http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/L-2.pdf

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Communication at Work Copyright © 2019 by Jordan Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Speechwriting

11 Ethics in Public Speaking

Being a Speaker the Audience Can Trust

In this chapter . . .

In this chapter, you will learn about the importance of ethics in both writing and delivering public speeches. The two major aspects of ethics in terms of public speaking are credibility and plagiarism. We define these issues and present strategies for increasing your credibility and preventing plagiarism, thus allowing you to deliver ethical and effective speeches.

In the fourth century BCE, the classic philosopher Aristotle took up the study of the public speaking practices of the ruling class in Athenian society. For two years he observed the men (it was only men) who spoke publicly in the assembly and the courts. In the end, he developed a theory about persuasiveness that has come down to us in history as a written treatise called Rhetoric. Among his many ideas was the identification of three elements essential to effective public speaking:  ethos ,  logos , and pathos . In short, these mean credibility, reasonability, and emotion.

In this chapter, we will focus on what Aristotle called ethos and what we today would call ethical public speaking . Ethics refers to the branch of philosophy that involves a determination of what is right and moral. On a personal level, it’s a standard of what you should and should not do in various situations. Although ethics are based on personal decisions and values, they are also influenced by factors outside of you.

Ethical Public Speaking 

Ethical Public Speaking refers to those aspects of public speaking that pertain to the personal character of a public speaker and the quality of the content they present in a speech. It involves honest research and truthful presentation, good intentions towards the audience, and the integrity of ideas. We are ethical speakers when we write and present speeches that respect these values.

Honesty & Truthfulness

Ethical public speaking requires adherence to factual truth and respect for your audience. This means that you’ll do your best to present factual, well-documented information designed to improve their lives and help them make informed, intelligent decisions with it. Honesty and truthfulness mean not telling lies and being thorough in representing the truth. When quotes are intentionally taken out of context to misrepresent the original author’s intent or to deceive the audience this isn’t honest research. You may have heard of the phrase “cherry-picking facts.” That’s when essential information is ignored in order to promote one version of the facts. When this happens, honesty fails because the truth is skewed.

A speaker is ethical when the intention of their communication is in the best interest of the audience. It means approaching the speech with honest purpose and wanting the best experience for the audience. If a speaker aims at manipulation, falsifies information, insults the audience, or simply has no intention of fulfilling the purpose of a speech, then they are not acting with good will.

When public speakers research and write speeches, they are expected to do so in a way that respects the sources from which they gain their knowledge and ideas. Furthermore, it’s the responsibility of the speaker to utilize factually accurate sources. When using sources known to be biased it’s important to acknowledge this. This is no different from the way that any writers (students, journalists, researchers, and teachers) are expected to acknowledge the sources of ideas. When we fail to do that, it’s called plagiarism. Plagiarism is unethical and will be discussed in depth below.

When a public speaker successfully conveys to their audience that they possess the qualities of integrity, good will, honesty, and truthfulness, then they have established speaker credibility . “Credibility” means the “quality that someone or something has that makes people believe or trust them” (Oxford Learner’s Dictionary). The success of any speech depends on the speaker’s establishing credibility with their audience. Simple forms of credibility statements form a part of the introduction of a speech, as described in the chapter Introductions and Conclusions .  What follows in this chapter is a more in-depth discussion of this important quality.

Being a Credible Speaker

Speaker credibility  is the positive attitude that the audience acquires toward a speaker. It’s based on both reality and perception and leads the audience to believe that the speaker is honest and competent. An audience wants to be “in good hands” and they use their intelligence and powers of observation to judge whether they should put their trust in a speaker.

Credibility is a product of both the content of a speech and its delivery. It’s related to what the audience hears in a speech as well as their perceptions, or even gut feelings, about the intangible characteristics of the speaker such as appearance, friendliness, sense of humor, likability, poise, and communication ability. It’s hard to overestimate the importance of establishing speaker credibility.

Let’s assume you’re giving an informative speech and you have worked diligently on all the elements of ethical public speaking. The content of your speech is honest (based on fact) and truthful (not “cherry-picked”). You’ve been careful to cite your research sources properly. You have the good intention to educate your audience about the topic and you will avoid manipulating, talking down to, or insulting your audience. You’re a credible speaker, certainly. However, your challenge is this: how do you convey to the audience that you are credible? What are the signs of credibility that they will hear and see? What do you say or do as a speaker so that the audience knows they are “in good hands”—that they can trust in you and in what you have to say?

Because credibility is made up of many factors, both verbal and non-verbal, this isn’t a simple question to answer. Establishing credibility is achieved in both speechwriting and delivery.

Establishing Credibility through Speechwriting

Some of the traits of credibility that a speaker conveys through speechwriting include:

A speaker is credible when they establish their competence on a topic. Competence means the speaker possesses the right level of expertise and sound knowledge about the speech topic, which they have acquired through research or firsthand experience. The speaker explains what the topic means to them and how they learned about it, with statements like: “I started studying the history of Ukraine last year and became fascinated by the people I met” or “I’ve always loved animals and have been volunteering at my local humane society for the past three years.”

Organization

A speaker establishes credibility with a speech that is organized and allows the audience to follow. Good, structured speeches allow the audience to relax and trust the speaker. Organized speeches state and restate their thesis and main ideas, using redundancy to beneficial effect. They allow the audience to follow along by providing connections, summaries, and previews.

Relationship

A speaker becomes credible by establishing a relationship with the audience. The speaker shows that they have thought about who the audience is, both demographically and psychographically and may say something like “I’m happy to be speaking to a group of new voters.”  The speaker introduces themselves (if they haven’t already been introduced by a host); and finds common ground with the audience and communicates these similarities. “Like you, I understand the challenges of being a student athlete . . . ” or “I know it must be strange to hear a 21-year-old talk to you today about retirement, but I helped my grandparents for several years and . . .”

A speaker is credible to an audience when they make use of, and cite, credible sources. Quotations without acknowledgments or mentioning sources by saying “I read on a website that . . . ” will not gain the trust of audience. In speeches that involve research, that present information beyond your own experience, be sure to properly acknowledge your sources. Not doing so will sow the seeds of doubt in an audience and undermine their trust. In speechwriting, this is called “spoken citation” and will be discussed further on in this chapter.

The Importance of the Introduction

While credibility through speechwriting is established throughout the entire speech, pay close attention to the introduction. The introduction is crucial to establishing your credibility. The introduction is the part of the speech where you state your topic and tell the audience why you chose it, what expertise you bring to it, and what it means to you. It’s also the part of the speech when you state your name and affiliation and establish the common interests you share with your audience.

Establishing Credibility through Delivery

Preparation.

Speakers are credible to an audience when they show they are prepared. Unless it’s an entirely impromptu speech occasion, the audience expects a speaker to be ready to speak. Unprepared, unrehearsed, messy, or incomplete notes, losing their place, going off on a tangent, going over allotted time—these are things that will diminish credibility.

A Proper Start

Pay attention to how you enter the speaking area and take stage. Body language speaks volumes. This is where “good will” shows itself. If you drag your feet to the stage and look as if giving a speech is the   last   thing you want to do, why would the audience trust you to care about them?

Pace and Volume

An audience feels that they can trust a speaker who takes the time to speak to them at a comfortable pace and with a volume they can hear.

Eye Contact

A speaker enhances their credibility with an audience through eye contact, establishing a relationship with the audience. An audience wants to be seen. Engaging with them physically helps them stay engaged with your content.

Body Language

Maintaining good posture throughout the speech gives the audience more confidence in you. This will also ensure better volume and eye contact. Using clear and intentional gestures emphasizes particular points and makes the speech visual more interesting.

A Proper Ending

As with a proper start, how you leave the stage is an element in the impression the audience will take away.

On Speaker Credibility—Other Considerations

Before you can encourage the audience’s trust in you, you need to do some self-examination about the elements of credibility that you possess in general and in relation to the specific speech occasion. This is a necessary step. An honest assessment of your credibility will help you in two ways: First, it helps you strategize how you will convey your strengths to the audience, and second, it helps you avoid dishonest or exaggerated claims of credibility. Ask yourself: Is your speech content honest and truthful? Have you done your best to make your speech easy to follow and understand? What do you want for your audience? Who is your audience and what do you have in common with them?

If credibility is a matter of audience perception, does that mean that credibility is only what a speaker manages to get the audience to believe about them, rather than what is  actually  true about the speaker? Of course not. The factors of credibility and ethical public speaking  must be real  before a speaker can successfully convey these qualities to an audience.

That said, it’s an unfortunate fact of public discourse that speakers misrepresent their credibility all the time, either intentionally or unintentionally. Can you think of situations where speakers pretended to be experts when they were not? When they say that they really care about a subject when there is evidence to the contrary? Or, they boast of having similarities with an audience—for example, boasting of a religious affiliation with the audience—but they don’t really possess these similarities? To intentionally misrepresent your background, such as experience and credentials, is clearly unethical. No doubt you can think of many such instances.

Unethical speakers do this because they know how important it’s to establish credibility with an audience. But managing to pass off lies about your credibility doesn’t mean you’re  actually   credible ! Perceptive audience members will know the difference.

Defining Plagiarism

An ethical public speaker has integrity. Although there are many ways that you could undermine your ethical stance before an audience, the one that stands out and is committed most in academic contexts is plagiarism . A dictionary definition of plagiarism would be “the act of using another person’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). According to the student help website Plagiarism.org, sponsored by WriteCheck, plagiarism is often thought of as “copying another’s work or borrowing someone else’s original ideas” (“What is Plagiarism?” 2014). However, this source goes on to say that the common definition may mislead some people. Plagiarism also includes:

• Turning in someone else’s work as your own
• Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• Failing to put quotation marks around an exact quotation correctly
• Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up most of your work, whether you give credit or not

Plagiarism exists outside of the classroom and is a temptation in business, creative endeavors, and politics.

Types of Plagiarism

Generally, there are three types of plagiarism: direct, incorrect paraphrasing, and self-plagiarism. Sometimes these types of plagiarism are intentional, and sometimes they occur unintentionally (you may not know you’re plagiarizing). However, as everyone knows, “Ignorance of the law isn’t an excuse for breaking it.” Unintentional or accidental plagiarism is still plagiarism. Furthermore, the penalties for plagiarism are steep and it’s considered a serious act of misconduct. So, let’s familiarize you with how plagiarism occurs in order to prevent it from happening.

No one wants to be the victim of theft; if it has ever happened to you, you know how awful it feels. When a student takes an essay, research paper, speech, or outline completely from another source, whether it’s a classmate who submitted it for another instructor, from some sort of online essay mill, or from elsewhere, this is an act of theft. If you take a whole text and claim it’s yours, you are committing plagiarism; you are deliberately and directly lying about the authorship of a work. Even just lifting a short passage directly from a source without quoting it and using proper citation, is a form of stealing, thus plagiarism. You are committing plagiarism even if you delete or change a couple of words. If the structure and most of the words are the same as in the original, and you imply it’s your own work, this counts as direct plagiarism. If properly acknowledged and justified, it’s permissible to use verbatim  short parts of another work, as discussed below.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing means taking someone else’s ideas and rephrasing them in your own words. There’s nothing wrong with rephrasing, in fact, it’s the basis of how we write and think. However, ethical writing (including speechwriting) means acknowledging the source of your ideas by citing or mentioning it. When you restate or summarize information from a source and don’t include a citation you are implying that those ideas came from you. Paraphrasing without citation is the most common form of plagiarism because it often happens unintentionally.

Another unethical, and more deliberate, form of incorrect paraphrasing is when you take two out of every three sentences and mix them up, so they don’t appear in the same order as in the original work. Perhaps the student will add a fresh introduction, a personal example or two, and an original conclusion.

Many students don’t see this as the same thing as stealing because they think “I did some research, I looked some stuff up, and I added some of my own work.” Yet this is only marginally better than direct plagiarism. Why? Because no source has been credited, and the student has “misappropriated” the expression of the ideas as well as the ideas themselves.

A similar sort of paraphrasing plagiarism involves copying passages from various sources and editing them together, mixed with some of your own words. If you do this and don’t correctly cite each source, it’s plagiarism. Furthermore, if your entire paper consists of predominantly the work of other authors that you have stitched together, whether you cite it or not, it’s plagiarism.

Self-Plagiarism

Some colleges and universities have a policy that penalizes or forbids “ self-plagiarism .” This means that you can’t use a paper or outline that you presented in another class a second time. You may think, “How can this be plagiarism or wrong if I wrote both and, in my work, I cited sources correctly?” The issue with re-using your own work is that you are not putting in the amount of effort expected for an assignment. One way to avoid self-plagiarism, particularly if your previous work is published, is to cite yourself. When in doubt, ask first.

Other Considerations

One area in speeches where students are not careful about citing is on their presentation slides. If a graphic or photo is borrowed from a website (that is, you did not design it), there should be a citation in small letters on the slide. The same would be true of borrowed quotations, data, and ideas. Students also like to put their “works cited” or “references” on the last slide, but this really does not help the audience to match particular images or material to the original source.

An issue that often comes up with students happens when two or more students submit the same assignment. When confronted, the student says, “We worked on it together.” If your instructor wants you to work collaboratively, they will make that clear. Otherwise, don’t do this.  Always assume you are expected o turn in your own work. Any use of unauthorized assistance is considered cheating.

Finally, using AI technologies such as chat bots to produce the text of a speech is equivalent to turning in something written by someone else. While it may be permissible to use technology for editing grammar and spelling, you are the author and the idea you present should be the result of your own thinking. Unless stated otherwise in your instructor’s policy, using AI to write a speech constitutes plagiarism.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Avoiding plagiarism involves, first, the intention to create your own work. If you begin by assuming you can take other work and present it as your own, you will surely be in the realm of plagiarism. The second part of avoiding plagiarism is to learn the proper way to cite the sources you use. To “cite” means to provide the sources for your research, creating what is called a “citation.” Citations appear in written work, including essays and speeches, and on many websites, images, and more. Explaining exactly how to create citations for a written essay or research paper is outside the scope of this textbook. There are also free online tools that will generate proper citations for you. In this section and the one following it, we will focus on spoken citations  as they appear in a speech—in other words, how to create a citation for listeners, not readers.

Avoiding Plagiarism with Direct Sources

As explained above, copying whole works from another source is plagiarism. But there are times when it’s appropriate to use a small amount of a source’s exact wording. You should have a good reason for inserting a direct quote. Typically, we quote when the source or author is highly respected, or they have stated the idea in a compelling way, or the material is well known, and others would recognize it. We also quote when we are discussing or analyzing a specific part of a text.

Whether you are using a phrase, a sentence, or even several sentences from another’s work, if you use exact words from a source, it requires quotation. Quoting tells the reader and listener that you are using the exact words from a source. The proper way to manage direct quotes in a speech text is to provide quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quote followed by a source citation. The most common citation is a parenthetical reference such as (Smith 12) where the author’s last name and the page number are written in parentheses following the quote. This parenthetical reference should correspond to a full citation in the bibliography. Alternatively, you can use a superscript number at the end of the quotation that corresponds to a full citation listed in footnotes/endnotes.

When using direct quotations, you should make it clear you’re quoting by the way in which you introduce and end the borrowed material, as in examples further below. A common practice in public speaking is to say quote and/or make air quotes to specify you are about to give a direct quote. It can also be beneficial to change your vocal tone and use appropriate gestures to help differentiate the quote from your own words.

Avoiding Plagiarism when Paraphrasing

As stated earlier, paraphrasing is common form of plagiarism because it often happens unintentionally. It’s important to understand what good paraphrasing is. Look at this example of an original source and three possible ways to paraphrase it.

Original information, posted on CNN.com website, October 31, 2015:

“The biggest federal inmate release on record will take place this weekend. About 6,600 inmates will be released, with 16,500 expected to get out the first year. More than 40,000 federal felons could be released early over the next several years, the U.S. Sentencing Commission said. The sentencing commission decided a year ago to lower maximum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and to make the change retro-active, with the inmate releases effective November 1, 2015. Sentences were reduced an average of 18%, the commission said. Early release will be a challenge for the inmates as well as the judicial bureaucracy” (Casarez, 2015).

With that as the original source, which of the following three is truly paraphrasing?

• The CNN News website says the federal government is releasing 40,000 felons from prison in the next few years.
• According to a report posted on CNN’s website on October 31 of 2015, the federal government’s Sentencing Commission is beginning to release prisoners in November based on a decision made in 2014. That decision was to make maximum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders shorter by an average of 18%. Over the next several years over 40,000 federal felons could be let go. However, this policy change to early release will not be easy for the justice system or those released.
• The largest release ever of federal inmates will take place in early November. At first 6,600 inmates will be released, and then over 16,000 over the first year. The U.S. Sentencing Commission says it could release over 40,000 federal felons over the upcoming years because the sentencing commission decided a year ago to lessen maximum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and to make this happen for those already in jail. When the Sentencing Commission says that when it made that decision, the sentences were reduced by an average of 18%. Early release will be a challenge for the felons as well as the judicial system. This came from a story on CNN News website in later October 2015.

If you chose the second paraphrase, you would be correct. It uses different language and identifies the source of the information clearly at the beginning. The first version does not really interpret the original statement correctly, and the third choice imitates the original almost entirely. Neither of these two would be good paraphrasing.

Notice that each paraphrase example includes a citation that provides the source of the material, but only the second paraphrase does so completely: “According to a report posted on CNN’s website on October 31 of 2015 . . . “

There is a general rule of research that says that if the information you are using is “common knowledge”—dates and facts for example or other information a general reader should know—then it doesn’t need to be cited. A good rule of thumb is if the same information can be found in 4-5 sources where it was not cited, it’s common knowledge. But if it’s an original idea, research results, or the author’s interpretation of common facts then it needs to be cited. If you are in doubt whether you should cite something or not, always err on the side of caution. Over-citing is much better than the alternative: plagiarism.

Keep in mind good research takes time. Procrastinating leads to being unduly pressured to finish. This sort of pressure can lead to sloppy research habits and bad decisions. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to complete your speech so it’s both ethical and well executed.

One way to avoid accidental plagiarism is to keep track of your citations as you are researching and writing. This prevents forgetting where a quotation came from or misattributing the source. Citation managers such as Zotero and Mendeley (which are free to download) not only keep track of all your sources while you research and write they can create instant bibliographies.

Creating Spoken Citations

Now that you understand using two forms of source material—direct quotation, and paraphrase—and you understand the importance of citing your sources to your audience, exactly how should you include a citation in a speech?

In a paper, you would only need to include a written citation such as “(Jones 78)” for a source that the reader can find in the bibliography. But it doesn’t work like for a speech. In a speech, saying “Jones, 78” doesn’t mean anything. Even saying “According to Jones, p. 78,” does little for the audience. Why? Because they can’t turn to a bibliography. They don’t have another way to understand the type of information being conveyed. In speeches it’s necessary, therefore, to give more complete information that would help the audience understand its value. This is why these are called  spoken citations .

What information needs to be included in a spoken citation? The page number, the publishing company, and city it was published in are not very important. What is important is the  type of source : for example, a website, scholarly article, newspaper article, or a book. Then, you should include when it was written, if possible, and the  position, background, or credentials  of the source. There are no fixed rules, however. In determining what should go into the verbal citation, think about the information that is necessary to clarify the relevance and credibility of your source for your audience and let that be your guide.

For example, instead of saying “According to Jones, p. 78,” a better approach would be,

According to Dr. Samuel Jones, Head of Cardiology at Vanderbilt University, in a 2010 article . . .

Whether you are introducing a direct quote or a paraphrase, you can see that it’s best to begin with the citation . Take these examples:

In her 2012 book,  The Iraq War in Context,  historian Mary Smith of the University of Georgia states that . . .

In consulting the website for the American Humane Society, I found these statistics about animal abuse compiled by the Society in 2023:

In the first example, you would insert a quote from Smith’s book after your spoken citation. In the second example, a paraphrase would be appropriate. For example:

In his 2014 book,  Talk Like Ted,  public speaking guru Carmine Gallo states that “Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century.”

In consulting the website TED.org, I learned that the TED organization does much more than sponsoring TED talks. There are also podcasts, a video series, and television programs.

Sometimes when using direct quotes, speakers find it helpful to clarify where the quote begins and ends by saying the word “quote.”  In that case, this is an example of exactly what a speaker would say:

In her 2023 memoir entitled  Finding Me , the actor Viola Davis writes, quote, “I felt my call was to become an actress. It wasn’t. It was bigger than that. I was bigger than my successes.” End quote.

As mentioned above, a speaker can achieve the same effect by making a gesture of air quotes or changing the tone of the voice.

To conclude, citing your sources is immensely important. It shows that you have done proper research to support your ideas and arguments and it allows your audience to find the material if they want more information. Using clear citations makes your speech more credible to the audience.

This chapter introduced you to the ethics of public speaking and how being an ethical public speaker makes you a credible public speaker that audiences will trust. Using sources ethically means not only proper citation, but taking care that the information you use is relevant and presented in context. Avoid manipulating statistical information or taking a quotation from an expert in one field and present as if they are an expert in another field. Differentiate facts from opinions, especially when dealing with controversial subjects. In addition, be sure you understand the material you’re citing before using it. If you’re unsure of any words, look their definitions up so you’re sure to be using the material as it’s intended. Finally, it’s important that you understand the type of publication or source you’re using and any potential biases. It’s your responsibility to help the audience understand the reliability of a particular source, the purpose of including any cited information, and how it relates to your overarching argument.

Something to Think About

The following exercise might be helpful for you to develop an understanding of orally citing your sources.

Choose one of your sources for an upcoming speech for this exercise. On a sheet of paper, answer these questions.

• Is this information you found in a unique source, or information that was repeated in all or most of your sources? (This may bear upon whether you need to cite the information or not.)
• Who is the original author or “speaker” of this quotation or material? Are they an expert, such as a scientist, doctor, government official, college professor, etc.?
• What is the title of source?
• What do you know about the source of the citation? What is the medium (book, article, website)?
• If a website, who sponsors the website (what organization, government, company)?
• When was this information published? What is the date on it?

It’s not necessary to give all this information, but most of it should be included in the citation.

Public Speaking as Performance Copyright © 2023 by Mechele Leon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

• Delivery Techniques →

Speech Etiquette: 17 Tips to Get Yourself Noticed

How well have you mastered public speaking? Feeling nervous before speaking in front of an audience gets to the best of us.

However, understanding speech etiquette can help you bridge any subject. Here are the mannerisms that meet proper speech etiquette.

Present Yourself as a Competent Speaker

Every message is as good as its messenger. You will need to have a criterion in mind to present your message so that you come off as a competent speaker. Thus, know what you want to accomplish and do exactly that.

Inspire, persuade, or inform without backtracking or going in circles. Understand your audience so you can structure your speech to meet your audience’s purpose.

When you present yourself confidently, you’ll command the audience’s attention. That’s why it pays to be passionate about the subject so you can pass the message with utmost clarity.

Understand the Demands of the Occasion

You’ll benefit from understanding the context. For example, you are the father of the bride and have been asked to give a speech at a wedding. You are naturally required to give a heartfelt story.

In this case, you’re going to have to rise to the demands of the occasion.

Know the difference between formal vs informal presentations .

Observe Politeness

It’s human nature to detect tone and attitude. Therefore, it will be difficult to fake politeness if your attitude is a bit off. For this reason, it’s best to recognize that you’re entering someone else’s personal space, and they expect you to respect it.

Whenever you’re presenting your speech, let your facial expressions mirror your words. You don’t want to smile when delivering a sad message and vice versa.

Furthermore, brush up on the best jokes for the occasion while considering that inappropriate jokes do not count as funny.

Maintain Eye Contact

Maintaining eye contact is a learned skill that follows good speech etiquette. You don’t have to read every single thing in your notes.

Losing eye contact will lose your audience engagement and make you feel like you’re presenting the message to yourself.

Present Yourself Confidently

Apart from maintaining eye contact, there are more things that you can do to present yourself confidently .

• Practice good posture when approaching the stage, on the podium , and as you walk off. Do not slump, lean, or twist on the podium or table. Also, do not stand in the projector’s light.
• Wait for the introducer to leave the stage before you start speaking. Remember to thank the introducer before commencing with the speech. This will prevent the scenario where the introducer has to acknowledge the thank you halfway between the podium and their seat – it’s very distracting and unnecessary.
• Make special greetings to the guest of honor, dignitaries, and government officials.
• Use the microphone provided and don’t readjust or tap it more than once.
• Articulate your words by slowing down and speaking up.
• Eliminate verbal crutches like ums and uhs and distracting habits such as fidgeting.
• Use variations in force, speed, and inflictions to enhance meaning and hold the audience’s attention.
• Never quit in between the speech or “lose your cool.”

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Practicing your speech is the only way to be completely prepared and show mastery of the subject. 

For you to nail your speech, you have to be overwhelmingly thorough. A practiced speaker connects to their audience with 100% confidence in their speech.

Arrive Early

Don’t arrive five minutes before giving a speech. You’ll be unprepared; the MC will not know how long the speech will take, and you’ll likely sort any presentation in front of the audience.

Doing this will take away from the audience’s confidence in you.

Stick To Your Time Slot

It’s disrespectful to the audience and other speakers when you speak after your given time is over. Always pay attention to the timing and obey timing signals.

If you take your full time, skip a few low-priority topics. If you expect to answer questions, leave five to ten minutes from your time slot.

The best way to stick to your time slot is by recording yourself and seeing if the speech fits within the allotted time.

Encourage Q&As

Q&As make the speech lively, allowing you to interact with the audience. The audience can ask for clarification on the subject or how a product works if it’s a sales pitch .

In addition, Q&As give the audience the impression that their presence is valued and appreciated. It will also give them the courage to share their thoughts which is valuable when passing any message.

During Q&A, listen thoughtfully and patiently. Then answer the questions respectfully. Furthermore, acknowledge when you don’t have an answer by telling your audience you’ll check and get to them with the appropriate answer.

Move On After Technology Glitches

It would help if you did not rely solely on visual presentation . If something happens to your slides, move on with the rest of the speech.

Do not spend more than a couple of minutes fixing the glitch. Always have alternatives like flow charts or a practiced speech that you can complete without the help of technology.

Make Presentable PowerPoint Slides

Have you ever been at a presentation only for the PowerPoint slides to pass super-fast? Fast slides with a long message in small fonts waste time.

Ensure that the visuals are readable by everyone. Zoom in on the important points, pause and let everyone take in the message.

When presenting visuals, ensure that they are not duplicating the message you’re speaking. The audience gains nothing of value when they have to see slides that repeat the same information.

Don’t Apologize

It may seem counterintuitive, but apologizing draws attention to any mistake like fumbling or tripping.

Even more important, do not apologize for not being prepared. Practice mindfulness techniques to be aware of how much you apologize.

Watch Your Movements

Reduce nervous gestures by practicing the ideal gestures for emphasis.

While some speeches are better done with little movement , some can benefit from a little demonstration and moving around your space.

Avoid Too Many Statistics

The last thing you want is to come across as a statistician. You only require one or two statistics to support a point; any more than that, you’ll start losing audience engagement . 

Again, speak your audience’s language , and share your insights and experiences.

Tell a Good Story

People want to relate to you. When you tell a story or inject a joke, the audience feels comfortable and captures their attention.

Adding humor makes the audience more likely to remember you and your speech. However, don’t tell the audience that you’re going to tell them something funny since it might sound awkward.

Dress for the Occasion

Tidy up and dress appropriately. Tie or slick your hair back to avoid strands getting in your eyes. Also, avoid wearing a hat or cap that could distract the audience.

Get Some Rest

Don’t compromise your energy level by over-exerting yourself before the day of the speech. It may impact your speech delivery since you will likely struggle to deliver a clear message.

In addition, avoid alcohol or caffeine the night before you deliver a speech.

Conclusion: On Speech Etiquette

Anyone can learn speech etiquette and present themselves with confidence. It takes practice to be good at something, especially public speaking. The next time you’re called to deliver a speech, follow these rules to speak for success. Good luck!

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5.3: Ethics in Public Speaking

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The study of ethics in human communication is hardly a recent endeavor. One of the earliest discussions of ethics in communication (and particularly in public speaking) was conducted by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato in his dialogue Phaedrus . In the centuries since Plato’s time, an entire subfield within the discipline of human communication has developed to explain and understand communication ethics.

Communication Code of Ethics

In 1999, the National Communication Association officially adopted the Credo for Ethical Communication (see the text box). Ultimately, the NCA Credo for Ethical Communication is a set of beliefs communication scholars have about the ethics of human communication.

National Communication Association Credo for Ethical Communication

Questions of right and wrong arise whenever people communicate. Ethical communication is fundamental to responsible thinking, decision making, and the development of relationships and communities within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and media. Moreover, ethical communication enhances human worth and dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personal integrity, and respect for self and others. We believe that unethical communication threatens the quality of all communication and consequently the well-being of individuals and the society in which we live. Therefore we, the members of the National Communication Association, endorse and are committed to practicing the following principles of ethical communication:

• We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication.
• We endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to achieve the informed and responsible decision making fundamental to a civil society.
• We strive to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their messages.
• We promote access to communication resources and opportunities as necessary to fulfill human potential and contribute to the well- being of families, communities, and society.
• We promote communication climates of caring and mutual understanding that respect the unique needs and characteristics of individual communicators.
• We condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence, and through the expression of intolerance and hatred.
• We are committed to the courageous expression of personal.

Applying the NCA Credo to Public Speaking

The NCA Credo for Ethical Communication is designed to inspire discussions of ethics related to all aspects of human communication. For our purposes, we want to think about each of these principles in terms of how they affect public speaking.

We Advocate Truthfulness, Accuracy, Honesty, and Reason as Essential to the Integrity of Communication

As public speakers, one of the first ethical areas we should be concerned with is information honesty. While there are cases where speakers have blatantly lied to an audience, it is more common for speakers to prove a point by exaggerating, omitting facts that weigh against their message, or distorting information. We believe that speakers build a relationship with their audiences, and that lying, exaggerating, or distorting information violates this relationship. Ultimately, a speaker will be more persuasive by using reason and logical arguments supported by facts rather than relying on emotional appeals designed to manipulate the audience.

It is also important to be honest about where all your information comes from in a speech. As speakers, examine your information sources and determine whether they are biased or have hidden agendas. For example, you are not likely to get accurate information about nonwhite individuals from a neo-Nazi website. While you may not know all your sources of information firsthand, you should attempt to find objective sources that do not have an overt or covert agenda that skews the argument you are making. The second part of information honesty is to fully disclose where we obtain the information in our speeches. As ethical speakers, it is important to always cite your sources of information within the body of a speech. Whether you conducted an interview or read a newspaper article, you must tell your listeners where the information came from. Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving credit is called plagiarism . The word “plagiarism” stems from the Latin word plagiaries , or kidnapper. American Psychological Association states in its publication manual that ethical speakers do not claim “words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due” (American Psychological Association, 2001). In the previous sentence, we placed quotation marks around the sentence to indicate that the words came from the American Psychological Association and not from us. When speaking informally, people sometimes use “air quotes” to signal direct quotations—but this is not a recommended technique in public speaking. Instead, speakers need to verbally tell an audience when they are using someone else’s information. The consequences for failing to cite sources during public speeches can be substantial. When President Joseph Biden was a Senator running for President of the United States in 1988, reporters found that he had plagiarized portions of his stump speech from British politician Neil Kinnock. Biden was forced to drop out of the race as a result. More recently, the student newspaper at Malone University in Ohio alleged that the university president, Gary W. Streit, had plagiarized material in a public speech. Streit retired abruptly as a result.

Even if you are not running for President of the United States or serving as a college president, citing sources is important to you as a student. Many universities and high schools have policies that include dismissal from the institution for student plagiarism of academic work, including public speeches. Failing to cite your sources might result, at best, in lower credibility with your audience and, at worst, in a failing grade on your assignment or expulsion from your school. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of giving credit to the speakers and authors whose ideas we pass on within our own speeches and writing.

Speakers tend to fall into one of three major traps with plagiarism. The first trap is failing to tell the audience the source of a direct quotation. In the previous paragraph, we used a direct quotation from the American Psychological Association; if we had not used the quotation marks and clearly listed where the cited material came from, you, as a reader, wouldn’t have known the source of that information. To avoid plagiarism, you always need to tell your audience when you are directly quoting information within a speech.

The second plagiarism trap public speakers fall into is paraphrasing what someone else said or wrote without giving credit to the speaker or author. For example, you may have read a book and learned that there are three types of schoolyard bullying. In the middle of your speech you talk about those three types of schoolyard bullying. If you do not tell your audience where you found that information, you are plagiarizing. Typically, the only information you do not need to cite is information that is general knowledge. General knowledge is information that is publicly available and widely known by a large segment of society. For example, you would not need to provide a citation within a speech for the name of Delaware’s capital. Although many people do not know the capital of Delaware without looking it up, this information is publicly available and easily accessible, so assigning credit to one specific source is not useful or necessary.

The third plagiarism trap that speakers fall into is re-citing someone else’s sources within a speech. To explain this problem, let’s look at a brief segment from a research paper written by Wrench, DiMartino, Ramirez, Oviedio, and Tesfamariam:

The main character on the hit Fox television show House , Dr. Gregory House, has one basic mantra, “It’s a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what” (Shore & Barclay, 2005). This notion that “everybody lies” is so persistent in the series that t-shirts have been printed with the slogan. Surprisingly, research has shown that most people do lie during interpersonal interactions to some degree. In a study conducted by Turner, Edgley, and Olmstead (1975), the researchers had 130 participants record their own conversations with others. After recording these conversations, the participants then examined the truthfulness of the statements within the interactions. Only 38.5% of the statements made during these interactions were labeled as “completely honest.”

In this example, we see that the authors of this paragraph cited information from two external sources: Shore and Barclay and Tummer, Edgley, and Olmstead. These two groups of authors are given credit for their ideas. The authors make it clear that they did not produce the television show House or conduct the study that found that only 38.5 percent of statements were completely honest. Instead, these authors cited information found in two other locations. This type of citation is appropriate.

However, if a speaker read the paragraph and said the following during a speech, it would be plagiarism: “According to Wrench DiMartino, Ramirez, Oviedio, and Tesfamariam, in a study of 130 participants, only 38.5 percent of the responses were completely honest.” In this case, the speaker is attributing the information cited to the authors of the paragraph, which is not accurate. If you want to cite the information within your speech, you need to read the original article by Turner, Edgley, and Olmstead and cite that information yourself.

There are two main reasons we examine and cite the original source. First, Wrench, DiMartino, Ramirez, Oviedio, and Tesfamariam may have mistyped the information. Suppose the study by Turner, Edgley, and Olstead actually found that 58.5 percent of the responses were completely honest. If you cited the revised number (38.5 percent) from the paragraph, you would be further spreading incorrect information.

The second reason we do not re-cite someone else’s sources within our speeches is because it’s intellectually dishonest. You owe your listeners an honest description of where the facts you are relating came from, not just the name of an author who cited those facts. It is more work to trace the original source of a fact or statistic, but by doing that extra work you can avoid this plagiarism trap.

We Endorse Freedom of Expression, Diversity of Perspective, and Tolerance of Dissent to Achieve the Informed and Responsible Decision Making Fundamental to a Civil Society

This ethical principle affirms that a civil society depends on freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent and that informed and responsible decisions can only be made if all members of society are free to express their thoughts and opinions. Further, it holds that diverse viewpoints, including those that disagree with accepted authority, are important for the functioning of a democratic society.

If everyone only listened to one source of information, then we would be easily manipulated and controlled. For this reason, we believe that individuals should be willing to listen to a range of speakers on a given subject. As listeners or consumers of communication, we should realize that this diversity of perspectives enables us to be more fully informed on a subject. Imagine voting in an election after listening only to the campaign speeches of one candidate. The perspective of that candidate would be so narrow that you would have no way to accurately understand and assess the issues at hand or the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing candidates. Unfortunately, some voters do limit themselves to listening only to their candidate of choice and, as a result, base their voting decisions on incomplete—and, often inaccurate—information.

Listening to diverse perspectives includes being willing to hear dissenting voices. Dissent is by nature uncomfortable, as it entails expressing opposition to authority or the majority position, often in very unflattering terms. Legal scholar Steven H. Shiffrin has argued in favor of some symbolic speech (e.g., flag burning) because we as a society value the ability of anyone to express their dissent against the will and ideas of the majority (Shiffrin, 1999). Ethical communicators will be receptive to dissent, no matter how strongly they may disagree with the speaker’s message because they realize that a society that forbids dissent cannot function democratically. Ultimately, honoring free speech and seeking out a variety of perspectives is very important for all listeners.

We Strive to Understand and Respect Other Communicators before Evaluating and Responding to Their Messages

This is another ethical characteristic that is specifically directed at receivers of a message. As listeners, we often let our perceptions of a speaker’s nonverbal behavior—his or her appearance, posture, mannerisms, eye contact, and so on—determine our opinions about a message before the speaker has said a word. We may also find ourselves judging a speaker based on information we have heard about him or her from other people. Perhaps you have heard from other students that a particular teacher is a really boring lecturer or is really entertaining in class. Even though you do not have personal knowledge, you may prejudge the teacher and his or her message based on information you have been given from others. The NCA credo reminds us that to be ethical listeners, we need to avoid such judgments and instead make an effort to listen respectfully; only when we have understood a speaker’s viewpoint are we ready to begin forming our opinions of the message.

Listeners should try to objectively analyze the content and arguments within a speech before deciding how to respond. Especially when we disagree with a speaker, we might find it difficult to listen to the content of the speech and, instead, work on creating a rebuttal the entire time the speaker is talking. When this happens, we do not strive to understand the speaker and do not respect the speaker.

Of course, this does not just affect the listener in the public speaking situation. As speakers, we are often called upon to evaluate and refute potential arguments against our positions. While we always want our speeches to be as persuasive as possible, we do ourselves and our audiences a disservice when we downplay, distort, or refuse to mention important arguments from the opposing side. Fairly researching and evaluating counterarguments is an important ethical obligation for the public speaker.

We Promote Access to Communication Resources and Opportunities as Necessary to Fulfill Human Potential and Contribute to the Well-Being of Families, Communities, and Society

Human communication is a skill that can and should be taught. We strongly believe that you can become a better, more ethical speaker. One of the reasons the authors of this book teach courses in public speaking and wrote this college textbook on public speaking is that we, as communication professionals, have an ethical obligation to provide others, including students like you, with resources and opportunities to become better speakers.

We Promote Communication Climates of Caring and Mutual Understanding That Respect the Unique Needs and Characteristics of Individual Communicators

Speakers need to take a two-pronged approach when addressing any audience: caring about the audience and understanding the audience. When you as a speaker truly care about your audience’s needs and desires, you avoid setting up a manipulative climate. This is not to say that your audience will always perceive their own needs and desires in the same way you do, but if you make an honest effort to speak to your audience in a way that has their best interests at heart, you are more likely to create persuasive arguments that are not just manipulative appeals.

Second, it is important for a speaker to create an atmosphere of mutual understanding. To do this, you should first learn as much as possible about your audience, a process called audience analysis.

To create a climate of caring and mutual respect, it is important for us as speakers to be open with our audiences so that our intentions and perceptions are clear. Nothing alienates an audience faster than a speaker with a hidden agenda unrelated to the stated purpose of the speech. One of our coauthors once listened to a speaker give a two-hour talk, allegedly about workplace wellness, which actually turned out to be an infomercial for the speaker’s weight- loss program. In this case, the speaker clearly had a hidden (or not-so-hidden) agenda, which made the audience feel disrespected.

We Condemn Communication That Degrades Individuals and Humanity through Distortion, Intimidation, Coercion, and Violence and through the Expression of Intolerance and Hatred

This ethical principle is very important for all speakers. Hopefully, intimidation, coercion, and violence will not be part of your public speaking experiences, but some public speakers have been known to call for violence and incite mobs of people to commit atrocities. Thus distortion and expressions of intolerance and hatred are of special concern when it comes to public speaking.

Distortion occurs when someone purposefully twists information in a way that detracts from its original meaning. Unfortunately, some speakers take information and use it in a manner that is not in the spirit of the original information. One place we see distortion frequently is in the political context, where politicians cite a statistic or the results of a study and either completely alter the information or use it in a deceptive manner. FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center ( http://www.factcheck.org ), and the St. Petersburg Times’s Politifact ( http://www.politifact.com ) are nonpartisan organizations devoted to analyzing political messages and demonstrating how information has been distorted.

Expressions of intolerance and hatred that are to be avoided include using ageist , heterosexist , racist , sexist , and any other form of speech that demeans or belittles a group of people. Hate speech from all sides of the political spectrum in our society is detrimental to ethical communication. As such, we as speakers should be acutely aware of how an audience may perceive words that could be considered bigoted. For example, suppose a school board official involved in budget negotiations used the word “shekels” to refer to money, which he believes the teachers’ union should be willing to give up (Associated Press, 2011). The remark would be likely to prompt accusations of anti- Semitism and to distract listeners from any constructive suggestions the official might have for resolving budget issues. Although the official might insist that he meant no offense, he damaged the ethical climate of the budget debate by using a word associated with bigotry.

At the same time, it is important for listeners to pay attention to expressions of intolerance or hatred. Extremist speakers sometimes attempt to disguise their true agendas by avoiding bigoted “buzzwords” and using mild-sounding terms instead. For example, a speaker advocating the overthrow of a government might use the term “regime change” instead of “revolution”; similarly, proponents of genocide in various parts of the world have used the term “ethnic cleansing” instead of “extermination.” By listening critically to the gist of a speaker’s message as well as the specific language he or she uses, we can see how that speaker views the world.

We Are Committed to the Courageous Expression of Personal Convictions in Pursuit of Fairness and Justice

We believe that finding and bringing to light situations of inequality and injustice within our society is important. Public speaking has been used throughout history to point out inequality and injustice, from Patrick Henry arguing against the way the English government treated the American colonists and Sojourner Truth describing the evils of slavery to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Army Lt. Dan Choi’s speeches arguing that the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” is unjust. Many social justice movements have started because young public speakers have decided to stand up for what they believe is fair and just.

We Advocate Sharing Information, Opinions, and Feelings When Facing Significant Choices While Also Respecting Privacy and Confidentiality

This ethical principle involves balancing personal disclosure with discretion. It is perfectly normal for speakers to want to share their own personal opinions and feelings about a topic; however, it is also important to highlight information within a speech that represents your own thoughts and feelings. Your listeners have a right to know the difference between facts and personal opinions. Similarly, we have an obligation to respect others’ privacy and confidentiality when speaking. If information is obtained from printed or publicly distributed material, it’s perfectly appropriate to use that information without getting permission, as long as you cite it. However, when you have a great anecdote one of your friends told you in confidence, or access to information that is not available to the general public, it is best to seek permission before using the information in a speech.

This ethical obligation even has legal implications in many government and corporate contexts. For example, individuals who work for the Central Intelligence Agency are legally precluded from discussing their work in public without prior review by the agency. And companies such as Google also have policies requiring employees to seek permission before engaging in public speaking in which sensitive information might be leaked.

We Accept Responsibility for the Short- and Long-Term Consequences of Our Own Communication and Expect the Same of Others

The last statement of NCA’s ethical credo may be the most important one. We live in a society where a speaker’s message can literally be heard around the world in a matter of minutes, thanks to our global communication networks. Extreme remarks made by politicians, media commentators, and celebrities, as well as ordinary people, can unexpectedly “go viral” with regrettable consequences. It is not unusual to see situations where a speaker talks hatefully about a specific group, but when one of the speaker’s listeners violently attacks a member of the group, the speaker insists that he or she had no way of knowing that this could possibly have happened. Washing one’s hands of responsibility is unacceptable: all speakers should accept responsibility for the short-term and long-term consequences of their speeches. Although it is certainly not always the speaker’s fault if someone commits an act of violence, the speaker should take responsibility for her or his role in the situation. This process involves being truly reflective and willing to examine how one’s speech could have tragic consequences. Furthermore, attempting to persuade a group of people to take any action means you should make sure that you understand the consequences of that action. Whether you are persuading people to vote for a political candidate or just encouraging them to lose weight, you should know what the short-term and long-term consequences of that decision could be. While our predictions of short-term and long-term consequences may not always be right, we have an ethical duty to at least think through the possible consequences of our speeches and the actions we encourage.

Practicing Ethical Public Speaking

Thus far in this section we’ve introduced you to the basics of thinking through the ethics of public speaking. Knowing about ethics is essential, but even more important to being an ethical public speaker is putting that knowledge into practice by thinking through possible ethical pitfalls prior to standing up and speaking out. Table 5.1 “Public Speaking Ethics Checklist” is a checklist based on our discussion in this chapter to help you think through some of these issues.

Table 5.1 Public Speaking Ethics Checklist

Instructions: For each of the following ethical issues, check either “true” or “false.”

• I have knowingly added information within my speech that is false.
• I have attempted to persuade people by unnecessarily tapping into emotion rather than logic.
• I have not clearly cited all the information within my speech.
• I do not know who my sources of information are or what makes my sources credible.
• I wrote my speech based on my own interests and really haven’t thought much about my audience.
• I haven’t really thought much about my audience’s needs and desires.
• I have altered some of the facts in my speech to help me be more persuasive.
• Some of the language in my speech may be considered bigoted.
• My goal is to manipulate my audience to my point of view.
• I sometimes blend in my personal opinions when discussing actual facts during the speech.
• I don’t bother to distinguish between the two during my speech.
• I’ve used information in my speech from a friend or colleague that probably shouldn’t be repeated.
• I’m using information in my speech that a source gave me even though it was technically “off the record.”
• It’s just a speech. I really don’t care what someone does with the information when I’m done speaking.
• I haven’t really thought about the short- or long-term consequences of my speech. Scoring: For ethical purposes, all your answers should have been “false.”

2 Ethics and Public Speaking

Anthony Naaeke, Ph.D. and Eva Kolbusz-Kijne, Ph.D.

Learning Objectives

• Explore the meaning of ethics.
• Distinguish between absolute and relativist perspectives on ethics.
• Identify and apply the code of ethics for ethical public speaking established by the National Communication Association
• Distinguish between ethical and unethical speech.

“I regret it now because the information was wrong.”

— Colin Powell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d93_u1HHgM4

The above quotation from former United States Secretary of State Colin Powell directly applies to the discussion we are about to have in this chapter, namely, ethics in public speaking. In this television interview on the Larry King Live CNN program first aired in 2011, former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, expressed regret for a speech he delivered before Congress in which he provided what he believed was justifiable reasons for the United States to go to war against Iraq following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States. Although Powell believed at the time of his speech to the United Nations that the information and evidence he provided in the speech were accurate, ostensibly because he trusted the officials who vetted the accuracy of the information, he later realized that the speech was based on misinformation and inaccurate evidence. By expressing regret for delivering a speech filled with inaccuracies, Colin Powell basically acknowledged that his speech was unethical. However, by publicly expressing regret for an unethical speech that he delivered, he fulfilled the ninth ethical principle of the National Communication Association’s code for ethical speaking that states, “We accept responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences for our own communication and expect the same of others.” This principle calls for ethical speakers to take responsibility for mistakes and errors made in communication whether in the short or long term when they become aware of the errors and inaccuracies they expressed.

In this chapter we will explore the meaning of ethics, ethical perspectives, the Code of Ethics of the National Communication Association and distinguish between ethical and unethical speeches.

Ethics has to do with social norms regarding right and wrong. It is a branch of philosophy that deals with right and wrong. Because different cultures have different norms about right and wrong, ethics is a very contested zone in all aspects of human encounters. One culture may consider something to be right while another may consider the same thing to be wrong. Hence, the contested nature of ethics. However, for effective communication, especially communication that is intended to move an audience to make choices or decisions, some basic agreement on what is right and wrong is necessary.

In De Oratore (Institutes of Oratory), the Roman rhetorician Quintilian wrote that the perfect orator is first “a good man speaking well.” This simple statement establishes a fundamental expectation for ethical public speaking, namely, that great oratory should entail both an ethical character of the speaker as well as delivery that embodies confidence, competence, dynamism, and good will (addresses the needs of an audience).

For Quintilian and other rhetoricians such as Cicero and St. Augustine, rhetoric or oratory should be grounded in truth and not deception. According to these rhetoricians, the communication of truth distinguishes ethical rhetoric from sophistic rhetoric which uses any means, including deceptive ways, untruths, and outright lies, to persuade an audience.

Ethical Perspectives

There are different perspectives on ethics, but this section will concentrate on two of them, namely, the absolute values perspective and the relativist perspective.

The absolute values perspective on ethics holds that irrespective of person, place, or time, right is right and wrong is wrong. In other words, there are universal ethical values that apply to all people and cultures. For example, it is wrong to kill or to tell a lie or to steal or to defraud. This means that irrespective of person or culture or situation, a person who tells a lie or kills or defrauds others has done an unethical act.

https://www.giffordlectures.org/books/moral-values-and-idea-god/6-relative-and-absolute-value

Ethical relativism on the other hand is the philosophical position that the sense of right and wrong is always relative to the individual and not universal to all people and situations.    The Encyclopedia Britannica defines ethical relativism as “the doctrine that there are no absolute truths in ethics and that what is morally right or wrong varies from person to person or from society to society.” The arguments for ethical relativism are mainly two-fold. The Encyclopedia observes that an argument, based on the Greek Philosopher Herodotus (5t Century BC), claims that every culture has its customs and norms and no culture’s values, norms and customs are better than another. A second argument in favor of ethical relativism, according to the Encyclopedia, is based on the 18th century philosopher David Hume who expressed the idea that moral values are grounded in emotion and not reason and can, therefore, not be universalized.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethical-relativism

Implications of Ethical Perspectives for Public Speaking

When applied to public speaking, the absolute values perspective on ethics implies that there are or should be rigorous principles that guide how to teach public speaking, how to write a speech, how to deliver a speech, how to reference sources, what is considered appropriate vocal projection, eye contact, posture, vocabulary, etc. This approach to public speaking can be regarded by minority groups based on race, culture, or nationality, as oppressive in the context of culturally sustaining pedagogies and the ongoing efforts to engage pedagogies that are inclusive, diverse, and equity minded.

On the other hand, a fundamental implication of ethical relativism for public speaking is that there are no universal norms or ethical codes that govern what and how to make public presentations. This means that depending on the speaker, context, audience or purpose, a public speaker decides what and how to make the presentation without following a predetermined style. This also means that the principle of ethical relativism is more respectful of diverse cultural values, culturally relevant speech patterns, thought processes, and language use. In the context of culturally sustaining pedagogies, the relativist ethical perspective would allow more flexibility in how public speaking is taught and how students, depending on their various backgrounds, prepare and deliver speeches.

Despite the implications of the two ethical perspectives on ethics discussed above, the National Communication Association (NCA) has established a Credo for Ethical Communication to guide the practice of the discipline.

NCA Credo for Ethical Communication

The NCA believes ethical communication is “fundamental to responsible thinking, decision making, and the development of relationships and communities within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and media.” Conversely, the NCA believes that unethical communication threatens the well-being of individuals and society. Consequently, the NCA has established a Credo for Ethical Communication referenced in the link below.

https://edge.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/ethics_section_03_module01_0.pdf

The NCA Credo for Ethical Communication is extensive, but for the purpose of this chapter which addresses ethics in public speaking, it is important to outline and focus on the following nine principles of the code:

• We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication.
• We endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to achieve the informed and responsible decision making fundamental to a civil society.
• We strive to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their messages.
• We promote access to communication resources and opportunities as necessary to fulfill human potential and contribute to the well-being of individuals, families, communities, and society.
• We promote communication climates of caring and mutual understanding that respect the unique needs and characteristics of individual communicators.
• We condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence, and through the expression of intolerance and hatred.
• We are committed to the courageous expression of personal convictions in pursuit of fairness and justice.
• We advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings when facing significant choices while also respecting privacy and confidentiality.
• We accept responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences for our own communication and expect the same of others.

In essence, the principles outlined in the code emphasize the importance of communication that is grounded in truth, honesty, accuracy, and respect for the audience as an ethical responsibility of a speaker.

Distinguishing Between Ethical and Unethical Speeches

Based on the exploration of ethics, perspectives on ethics, and the NCA Credo for ethical communication, it is appropriate to observe that irrespective of cultural background or values, some general principles should guide what is ethical or unethical in public speaking.

Purpose of the Speech

Effective communication must be purpose-driven. The purpose of a speech is important because it lets the speaker and audience know the ultimate outcome of the speech. The purpose of the speech should seek to accomplish something good. If the purpose of a speech is unethical it means that it seeks to accomplish something bad. Let us explore some examples to illustrate. In the speech by former Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations that we referenced in the introduction of this chapter, his purpose was to persuade the International Community that Saddam Hussien, then President of Iraq, had weapons of mass destruction which posed serious security problems to the world and that the United States would have to go to war against Iraq in order to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction against the International Community. The purpose of the speech was ethical in as far as it sought to protect the common good of the International Community by preventing a nation and its leader from doing harm to people. On the other hand, a speech whose purpose is to arouse anger and resentment against specific groups of people, such as immigrants, would be unethical because such a speech aims to do harm to a group of people by appealing to the emotion of anger in its audience who would then act violently or discriminate against immigrants as evidenced by a speech by former President Donald Trump in which he called Mexicans murderers and rapists. See reference to the speech in the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaz1J0s-cL4

Credibility of evidence

Another element of an ethical speech is that the information given should be based on facts and not opinion,, information that is accurate and reliable. Facts can be demonstrated or proven, while opinions are the personal views of a person that may or may not be factual. The evidence should also be accurate in the sense that it should fully and properly represent the ideas or statements of others within the context in which such ideas or statements are made. Evidence that is not accurate distorts the original message of the source of information and misleads an audience. The credibility of evidence is not only about what is stated but also about who says it. To be ethical, a public speaker must verify that the source of information they use as evidence to support claims is reliable or can be trustedtrustworthy. For example, the statements of a racist bigot in defense of racism cannot be considered reliable because of the personal disposition of the source.

Another important consideration about the credibility of evidence is crediting the sources of the information used. An ethical speaker must let the audience know the source of the information or data or statistics or images such as paintings, pictures, and drawings if the information was taken from another person’s work. Failing to credit the sources of information constitutes plagiarism.

Plagiarism is using another person’s ideas or work without crediting the source. There are three types of plagiarism: global, patchwork and incremental.

Global plagiarism is taking the entire work of another person and not crediting the source. For example, if you take a speech that was written by someone else and deliver it to an audience without letting the audience know who the original writer of the speech is, that would constitute global plagiarism.

Patchwork plagiarism on the other hand takes substantive parts, such as a paragraph, from different sources and puts them together without crediting the sources. Patchwork plagiarism is easy to commit when you highlight, copy, and paste information from different sources without crediting the sources.

The third type of plagiarism, incremental plagiarism, happens when you take a phrase or sentence from various sources and fail to credit the sources. Ethical speakers always credit their sources.

Arrangement of Ideas

One other way to be an ethical speaker is to arrange your ideas in a way that makes it easy for the audience to follow the logical flow of the message. An ethical speaker should facilitate the understanding of the message and not confuse the audience with disorderly placement of ideas. In an orderly arrangement of ideas, the audience can easily follow how one idea moves to another or relates to another, whereas in a confusing arrangement of ideas, the audience struggles to see how one point relates to another or flows into another.

An ethical speaker should always be mindful that the language used is familiar to the audience and inclusive, . Language should not toonot be too technical or abstract,; not racist, sexist, or abusive and is inclusive. Using familiar language makes it easy for the audience to understand a message being communicated, while technical or abstract language may be appropriate for a specific audience especially based on profession and level of education. Racist, sexist, and abusive language looks down on a group of people while extolling the perceived superiority of the speaker over the audience.

Respect for the audience

In addition to the above guidelines for ethical speaking, a speaker should show respect to an audience by being on time to the event and respect the time allotted for the speech. The speaker also shows respect to an audience by dressing appropriately and listening to the feedback from the audience and responding to questions from the audience honestly.

Finally, an ethical speaker should know what they are talking about, be well prepared, dress appropriately, speak clearly, engage the audience through direct eye contact and body movements that show physical/mindful presence and attention to the audience.

Other guiding principles for ethical public speaking

Many scholars of ethical communication agree that an ethical speaker should have integrity, competence, responsibility, respect, and concern (Plante, 2004). Integrity means being an honest, fair and a just person. Competence is a quality of someone who is knowledgeable and skilled in some job or task whilst r. Responsibility has to do with keeping promises and being attentive to one’s obligations. An ethical speaker should be respectful of others in terms of paying attention to their rights, needs, dignity and be concerned about the needs of others.

In this chapter, we explored the meaning of ethics, different perspectives on ethics, and distinguished between ethical and unethical speeches. We also outlined the Credo for Ethical Communication by the National Communication Association and provided practical guidelines for ethical public speaking. In the context of higher education that emphasizes the need for culturally sustaining pedagogies, an ethical speaker must be respectful of diverse audiences they address. Ethical speakers should use evidence that is based on reliable facts while considering the lived experiences and needs of the audience.

Review Questions

• What is your understanding of ethics and why is it important for speaking speakers?
• Identify nine principles of ethical communication outlined by the National Communication Association.

Class Exercises

• Show a speech to the class and put students in small groups to discuss and explain why the speech is ethical or unethical.
• Put students in small groups and ask them to make a list of things they consider ethical or unethical in a speech.

Works Cited

Encyclopedia Britannica. Ethical Relativism. https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethical-relativism . Accessed 6/5/21.

Plante, Thomas. Do the Right Thing: Living Ethically in an Unethical World . Oakland, CA. New Harbinger Publications, 2004, p. 49-145.

Powell, Colin. Interview on Larry King Live. CNN . 2011. YouTube Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d93_u1HHgM4 . Accessed 6/5/21.

The Gifford Lectures. Relative and Absolute Value. https://www.giffordlectures.org/books/moral-values-and-idea-god/6-relative-and-absolute-value . Accessed 6/5/21.

Trump, Donald. Interview on MSNBC. YouTube Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaz1J0s-cL4 . Accessed 6/5/21.

Ethics and Public Speaking Copyright © by Anthony Naaeke, Ph.D. and Eva Kolbusz-Kijne, Ph.D. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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BUS210: Business Communication

Preparing your speech to inform.

Read this section, which describes how to give an ethical speech, especially when the purpose of that speech is to inform. It is important to be non-judgemental and honest in your approach. After you read, try the exercises at the end of the section.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss and provide examples of ways to incorporate ethics in a speech.
• Construct an effective speech to inform.

Now that we've covered issues central to the success of your informative speech, there's no doubt you want to get down to work. Here are five final suggestions to help you succeed.

Start with What You Know

Are you taking other classes right now that are fresh in your memory? Are you working on a challenging chemistry problem that might lend itself to your informative speech? Are you reading a novel by Gabriel García Márquez that might inspire you to present a biographical speech, informing your audience about the author? Perhaps you have a hobby or outside interest that you are excited about that would serve well. Regardless of where you draw the inspiration, it's a good strategy to start with what you know and work from there. You'll be more enthusiastic, helping your audience to listen intently, and you'll save yourself time. Consider the audience's needs, not just your need to cross a speech off your "to-do" list. This speech will be an opportunity for you to take prepared material and present it, gaining experience and important feedback. In the "real world," you often lack time and the consequences of a less than effective speech can be serious. Look forward to the opportunity and use what you know to perform an effective, engaging speech.

Consider Your Audience's Prior Knowledge

You don't want to present a speech on the harmful effects of smoking when no one in the audience smokes. You may be more effective addressing the issue of secondhand smoke, underscoring the relationship to relevance and addressing the issue of importance with your audience. The audience will want to learn something from you, not hear everything they have heard before. It's a challenge to assess what they've heard before, and often a class activity is conducted to allow audience members to come to know each other. You can also use their speeches and topic selection as points to consider. Think about age, gender, and socioeconomic status, as well as your listeners' culture or language. Survey the audience if possible, or ask a couple of classmates what they think of the topics you are considering. In the same way, when you prepare a speech in a business situation, do your homework. Access the company Web site, visit the location and get to know people, and even call members of the company to discuss your topic. The more information you can gather about your audience, the better you will be able to adapt and present an effective speech.

Adapting Jargon and Technical Terms

You may have a topic in mind from another class or an outside activity, but chances are that there are terms specific to the area or activity. From wakeboarding to rugby to a chemical process that contributes to global warming, there will be jargon and technical terms. Define and describe the key terms for your audience as part of your speech and substitute common terms where appropriate. Your audience will enjoy learning more about the topic and appreciate your consideration as you present your speech.

Using Outside Information

Even if you think you know everything there is to know about your topic, using outside sources will contribute depth to your speech, provide support for your main points, and even enhance your credibility as a speaker. "According to ____________" is a normal way of attributing information to a source, and you should give credit where credit is due. There is nothing wrong with using outside information as long as you clearly cite your sources and do not present someone else's information as your own.

Presenting Information Ethically

A central but often unspoken expectation of the speaker is that we will be ethical. This means, fundamentally, that we perceive one another as human beings with common interests and needs, and that we attend to the needs of others as well as our own. An ethical informative speaker expresses respect for listeners by avoiding prejudiced comments against any group, and by being honest about the information presented, including information that may contradict the speaker's personal biases. The ethical speaker also admits it when he or she does not know something. The best salespersons recognize that ethical communication is the key to success, as it builds a healthy relationship where the customer's needs are met, thereby meeting the salesperson's own needs.

Reciprocity

Tyler discusses ethical communication and specifically indicates reciprocity as a key principle. Reciprocity , or a relationship of mutual exchange and interdependence, is an important characteristic of a relationship, particularly between a speaker and the audience. We've examined previously the transactional nature of communication, and it is important to reinforce this aspect here. We exchange meaning with one another in conversation, and much like a game, it takes more than one person to play. This leads to interdependence, or the dependence of the conversational partners on one another. Inequality in the levels of dependence can negatively impact the communication and, as a result, the relationship. You as the speaker will have certain expectations and roles, but dominating your audience will not encourage them to fulfill their roles in terms of participation and active listening. Communication involves give and take, and in a public speaking setting, where the communication may be perceived as "all to one," don't forget that the audience is also communicating in terms of feedback with you. You have a responsibility to attend to that feedback, and develop reciprocity with your audience. Without them, you don't have a speech.

Mutuality means that you search for common ground and understanding with the audience, establishing this space and building on it throughout the speech. This involves examining viewpoints other than your own, and taking steps to insure the speech integrates an inclusive, accessible format rather than an ethnocentric one.

Nonjudgmentalism

Nonjudgmentalism underlines the need to be open-minded, an expression of one's willingness to examine diverse perspectives. Your audience expects you to state the truth as you perceive it, with supporting and clarifying information to support your position, and to speak honestly. They also expect you to be open to their point of view and be able to negotiate meaning and understanding in a constructive way. Nonjudgmentalism may include taking the perspective that being different is not inherently bad and that there is common ground to be found with each other. While this characteristic should be understood, we can see evidence of breakdowns in communication when audiences perceive they are not being told the whole truth. This does not mean that the relationship with the audience requires honesty and excessive self-disclosure. The use of euphemisms and displays of sensitivity are key components of effective communication, and your emphasis on the content of your speech and not yourself will be appreciated. Nonjudgmentalism does underscore the importance of approaching communication from an honest perspective where you value and respect your audience.

Honesty , or truthfulness, directly relates to trust, a cornerstone in the foundation of a relationship with your audience. Without it, the building (the relationship) would fall down. Without trust, a relationship will not open and develop the possibility of mutual understanding. You want to share information and the audience hopefully wants to learn from you. If you "cherry-pick" your data, only choosing the best information to support only your point and ignore contrary or related issues, you may turn your informative speech into a persuasive one with bias as a central feature. Look at the debate over the U.S. conflict with Iraq. There has been considerable discussion concerning the cherry-picking of issues and facts to create a case for armed intervention. To what degree the information at the time was accurate or inaccurate will continue to be a hotly debated issue, but the example holds in terms on an audience's response to a perceived dishonestly. Partial truths are incomplete and often misleading, and you don't want your audience to turn against you because they suspect you are being less than forthright and honest.

Respect should be present throughout a speech, demonstrating the speaker's high esteem for the audience. Respect can be defined as an act of giving and displaying particular attention to the value you associate with someone or a group. This definition involves two key components. You need to give respect in order to earn from others, and you need to show it. Displays of respect include making time for conversation, not interrupting, and even giving appropriate eye contact during conversations.

Communication involves sharing and that requires trust. Trust means the ability to rely on the character or truth of someone, that what you say you mean and your audience knows it. Trust is a process, not a thing. It builds over time, through increased interaction and the reduction of uncertainty. It can be lost, but it can also be regained. It should be noted that it takes a long time to build trust in a relationship and can be lost in a much shorter amount of time. If your audience suspects you mislead them this time, how will they approach your next presentation? Acknowledging trust and its importance in your relationship with the audience is the first step in focusing on this key characteristic.

Avoid Exploitation

Finally, when we speak ethically, we do not intentionally exploit one another. Exploitation means taking advantage, using someone else for one's own purposes. Perceiving a relationship with an audience as a means to an end and only focusing on what you get out of it, will lead you to treat people as objects. The temptation to exploit others can be great in business situations, where a promotion, a bonus, or even one's livelihood are at stake. Suppose you are a bank loan officer. Whenever a customer contacts the bank to inquire about applying for a loan, your job is to provide an informative presentation about the types of loans available, their rates and terms. If you are paid a commission based on the number of loans you make and their amounts and rates, wouldn't you be tempted to encourage them to borrow the maximum amount they can qualify for? Or perhaps to take a loan with confusing terms that will end up costing much more in fees and interest than the customer realizes? After all, these practices are within the law; aren't they just part of the way business is done? If you are an ethical loan officer, you realize you would be exploiting customers if you treated them this way. You know it is more valuable to uphold your long-term relationships with customers than to exploit them so that you can earn a bigger commission. Consider these ethical principles when preparing and presenting your speech, and you will help address many of these natural expectations of others and develop healthier, more effective speeches.

Sample Informative Presentation

Here is a generic sample speech in outline form with notes and suggestions.

Attention Statement

Show a picture of a goldfish and a tomato and ask the audience, "What do these have in common?"

Introduction

Briefly introduce genetically modified foods.

• State your topic and specific purpose: "My speech today will inform you on genetically modified foods that are increasingly part of our food supply".
• Introduce your credibility and the topic: "My research on this topic has shown me that our food supply has changed but many people are unaware of the changes".
• State your main points: "Today I will define genes, DNA, genome engineering and genetic manipulation, discuss how the technology applies to foods, and provide common examples".
• Information. Provide a simple explanation of the genes, DNA and genetic modification in case there are people who do not know about it. Provide clear definitions of key terms.
• Genes and DNA. Provide arguments by generalization and authority.
• Genome engineering and genetic manipulation. Provide arguments by analogy, cause, and principle.
• Case study. In one early experiment, GM (genetically modified) tomatoes were developed with fish genes to make them resistant to cold weather, although this type of tomato was never marketed.
• Highlight other examples.

Reiterate your main points and provide synthesis, but do not introduce new content.

Residual Message

"Genetically modified foods are more common in our food supply than ever before".

Key Takeaway

In preparing an informative speech, use your knowledge and consider the audience's knowledge, avoid unnecessary jargon, give credit to your sources, and present the information ethically.

• Identify an event or issue in the news that interests you. On at least three different news networks or Web sites, find and watch video reports about this issue. Compare and contrast the coverage of the issue. Do the networks or Web sites differ in their assumptions about viewers' prior knowledge? Do they give credit to any sources of information? To what extent do they each measure up to the ethical principles described in this section? Discuss your findings with your classmates.
• Find an example of reciprocity in a television program and write two to three paragraphs describing it. Share and compare with your classmates.
• Find an example of honesty in a television program and write two to three paragraphs describing it. Share and compare with your classmates.
• Find an example of exploitation depicted in the media. Describe how the exploitation is communicated with words and images and share with the class.
• Compose a general purpose statement and thesis statement for a speech to inform. Now create a sample outline. Share with a classmate and see if he or she offers additional points to consider.

Module 2: Ethical Speech

Why it matters: ethical speech.

• Wired World. Located at : https://www.pickpik.com/network-astronomy-planet-space-galaxy-a-journey-of-discovery-62725 . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
• Why It Matters: Ethical Speech. Authored by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution

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A Beginners Guide to Debate Ethics and Etiquette

by Thaddeus Tague | Sep 4, 2018 | Coaching , From Novice to Intermediate , Technique , Uncategorized | 7 comments

Treat your opponent with respect. Aside from that, what basic rules (do’s and don’ts) apply?   This post applies to TP and LD specific rounds – but also to any debate style or format. Here is a simple starter list of things to be aware of. It is  not a comprehensive guide, but rather a conversation starter. 

Before the debate:

Do be well prepped on your subject. Do as much prep and research as time allows.

Do dress better than your opponent.

Do greet your opponent and wish them good luck. Smile and shake hands.

Do acknowledge and address your judge (or moderator), introduce yourself, and maybe shake hands.

Do look around the room and smile before you start your speech (briefly).

Do not feel bad to make small talk with your judge(moderator) or opponent if things are running behind schedule.

Do have all your materials and notes easily accessible in case you need to search through them.

During the Debate:

Do refer to your opponent respectfully. EX. “My opponent” “My honorable interlocutor.” In certain cases, using their name is ok, as it shows you are familiar with them.

Do look at the person currently speaking, and look engaged, or pretend to be engaged.

Do not attack your opponents or make comments about their appearance, personality, or style.

Do not converse with your opponent during the debate round, unless it is during cross-examination , an announcement of prep time, or exchange of evidence. This is not a hard rule, but rather a suggestion.

Do not use your phone.

Do not fall asleep (I have seen this happen before).

Do not commit ad hominem , by attacking your opponent’s character or name calling.

Do not misquote evidence (by using words your sources didn’t). Summarizing, explanation or paraphrasing is ok.

After the Debate

Do shake your opponent’s hands, and tell them “good job” or “great debate”

Do shake your judges(moderator’s) hand, and tell them thank you.

Do look engaged and make eye contact if your judge gives you feedback.

Do hide your emotion after the debate, until you are sufficiently distanced from your opponent.

Do not blame the judge or the audience if you lose a hard round.

Do not verbalize or threaten adjudication if rules have been violated, simply walk over and present your issue to the adjudication authority or tournament director after the round has concluded.

Do not take your opponent to adjudication based on perceived slights or regional standards. Only bring an issue to adjudication when it has violated the rules as laid out by the league.

This list is by no means comprehensive, and when debating competitively, make sure to adhere to that league’s guidelines and standards. Otherwise, have fun, and make sure to treat your opponent as respectfully as you can.

Have any you’d like to add or take issue with? Comment down below, or email us if you have questions regarding specific leagues or debate styles. 

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Is it allowed to use teleprompter or earpieces during debate

In a debate that is allowed to go to-and-fro, i.e. A, B, A, B and so on, if A believes that B has said untrue things, is it acceptable for A to accuse B of ‘telling lies’, whilst NOT suggesting that B is ‘a liar’?

David, I think person A would definitely need to be careful about accusing the opponent of “lying” in a round simply because A thinks that they’ve said untrue things. In general I think the words “lying” and “liar” are really charged since they typically imply a degree of intent (e.g., “you knew what you were saying was false, but you said it anyway with the intent to cause people to believe something false”), and since you can’t typically know someone’s intent it’s generally better to avoid those terms—especially in a debate round. Additionally, this only applies in cases where something is clearly false (e.g., misquoting a source, saying you dropped an argument which you very clearly responded to), NOT “they said their plan would solve but that is false for these three reasons” (which may be the whole point in contention). That being said, it might be reasonable/acceptable to say that someone was “very negligent or careless with regards to the truth” in certain circumstances. For example, I once faced a team running a case to export natural gas. Their plan mandate only approved export applications that designated a specific country as the recipient. However, I pointed out that they had no evidence showing that the applications do not designate recipient countries, and I brought up some quotes from sources that (indirectly) seemed to indicate that recipient countries were not designated on applications. After the round I found sources that more-explicitly stated this, yet in a round at the next tournament the team still had not changed their plan and made the same flawed arguments that they had previously made against us against a novice team.

Hey Noah I think I know you

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Etiquette and Manners for Your Success

The Etiquette That People Most Want to Know – The Most-Read Etiquette Posts of the Year

Enjoy these most popular etiquette topics people want to know about (based on the top ten most-read posts of 2017).

By: Maralee McKee, Manners Mentor

I always find it fascinating to see what interests people. With that in mind, I looked up the top ten most-read Manners Mentor posts of 2017 to discover the etiquette that people most want to know. At this time of year, when we’re all reflecting back and looking forward, I thought it would be fun to share with you what I found.

What were the most common etiquette questions this year? What manners topics peaked readers’ interests? What social skills did people Google?

Here’s a list of the ten most-read posts on Manners Mentor this past year, in order from one to ten.

FREE Five-Day Challenge

Learn the 25 habits of a remarkably classy person..

An interesting fact about number three is that I wrote it for the July 4 holiday in 2016. It was well-received, but not like many of my other posts. More than a year later, I woke up one day and discovered that over 3,000 people had read it in just one evening! People kept coming to it by the thousands each day for several months this fall after a few football players decided to protest by not standing for the playing of The National Anthem. More players followed suit, some Presidential tweets were sent, and suddenly I was doing radio and print interviews from small towns in the U.S. to European capital cities. Who says etiquette isn’t exciting?!

What I find lovely about the list is that people were looking for ways to take care of people (#1), pay ultimate respect (#10), graciously do hard things (#2, 6, 8, and 9), and celebrate others’ milestones (#4 and 7). These are all things that help draw us together by interacting with thoughtfulness, compassion, kindness, and graciousness. It’s a pretty great way to live the new year and all the future ones too!

Without further ado…

The Most Popular Etiquette Topics — The 10 Most-Read Posts of the Year

1.) How to Be a Great Friend To Someone in the Hospital

2.) Three Ways to Nicely Say No Without Feeling Guilty

3.) U.S. Flag, Pledge of Allegiance, and National Anthem Etiquette

4). RSVP Etiquette for Guests and Hosts: The Newest Manners for This Fading Art

5.) Which To-Go Orders You Tip and Which You Don’t

6.) How to Graciously RSVP That You Can’t Attend

7.) Graduation Etiquette — The Top Eleven Manners for Grads, Guests, and Families

8.) How to Apologize: The 7 Steps of a Sincere Apology

9.) How to Graciously Answer Nosy Questions

10.) The Etiquette of Visitations and Funerals

My Favorite Post on the Blog

If I had to limit the blog to one post, it would be this one:

The Gracious 5-Step Formula for Writing Thank You Notes

It’s surprising that it never made The Top 10 List. I believe it’s because too many people don’t want to slow down enough to express gratitude. Yet until we do, what we have will never be enough. It’s while we’re expressing gratitude, and afterward as we think back on it, that our heart is focused on the contentment that the gift or kind act gives us.

What’s Next?

Happy New Year! May the next 12 months bring you health, contentment, and joy!!! Thank you for reading this blog and being part of the Manners Mentor family! Keep doing what only you can do: make your portion of the world a better place by being you at your authentic best!

Blessings galore,

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About Maralee McKee

Maralee McKee is dedicated to helping you become the person you most want to be and to live a confident, kind, and generous life! She is a contemporary etiquette, manners, and people skill expert and the founder of the prestigious Etiquette School of America. She's in the top one percent of experts in her field, and her etiquette skills blog is the most read in the United States. Maralee presents business etiquette seminars to corporations large and small and coaches individuals one-on-one virtually and in-person. Her book on how moms can teach their children to become the best version of themselves (Harvest House Publishing) earned the prestigious Mom’s Choice Gold Award for excellence in parenting books.

Join the Most-Read Etiquette, Soft Skills, and Interpersonal Communications Blog in the United States!

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Importance Of Time Management Speech [1,2,3 Minutes]

Time management refers to planning how to divide your time between specific activities. The key elements of Time Management are setting priorities, excluding non-priorities, goal setting, creating a suitable environment & developing the right habits. There are a lot of benefits of time management. It can make a person more efficient, productive, and disciplined. The one who can manage his time is more prone to achieve goals within a set time. Apart from that, It boosts your confidence & reduces stress. 1 Minute Speech “Time management is life management”. This is one of my favorite quotes which describes the meaning…

Speech On Ethics And Etiquette [1,2,3 Minutes]

The word “Ethics” is derived from the Greek word “ethos”, which means “the way of living”. Generally, ethics helps us understand what is right and what is wrong in human conduct. It tells us about how should a person behave be it casual or official. In this article, we shared some examples of short and long speeches on ethics and etiquette. This post will help you to prepare for public speaking on the same topic. 1 Minute Speech On Ethics Hello and welcome all of you gathered here. I am here to present a speech on ethics. “Ethics” is a…

Speech About Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti 2023

Speech About Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti: 2nd October 1869 was the day when an extraordinary personality took birth on earth and left its impact on the entire world. Being impacted by his personality United Nations General Assembly has marked his birth anniversary (2nd October) as the International Day of Non-Violence. 1 Minute Speech Greetings to everyone gathered here on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti, I (your name) cordially welcome all of you to celebrate this momentous day along with us. It is obvious today to talk about the father of the nation Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He had a simple personality…

1 Minute Speech On Health Is Wealth

Hello, First of all, I would like to wish you all the best wishes for the day. And also, I am very glad to have a chance to share my views on “Health is Wealth”. People underestimate the importance of health but it should be the primary goal of everyone to achieve good health. Because without good health, you won’t be able to focus on anything in life. That is why Mahatma Gandhi once said, “It is health that is the real wealth, and not pieces of gold and silver.” To get a healthy life, one should make some changes…

2 Minute Speech On Child Labour

Hello, all the people present here, first of all, I would like to wish you all the best wishes for the day & also thank you all for having me a chance to speak a few words on child labour. Imagine, the weight of your body is 20 KG and you have to lift a weight of 40 KG. How it seems? Isn’t it burdening someone with huge tasks of which he is not capable? This is the condition of every child who is stuck in the dirty swamp of child labour. Yes, it sounds bitter but it is true.…

1 Minute Speech On Child Labour

“Childhood” {keep silence for 5 sec} is the best time in human life. This is what surveys reveal. It is the most enjoyable and memorable time for every human. But what if I say every one child out of ten is deprived of their childhood globally? Yes, it is true. Before heading ahead I want to wish you all of you present here with best wishes and I am thankful to have a chance to deliver a speech on Child Labour. The term child labour itself is defined. It destroys the childhood of children and also their future is burned…

Speech On Nature [ 1-2 minutes ]

1 Minute Speech Hello and good morning all, I am here to present a speech on nature and its conservation. We all are surrounded by Nature. Whatever we see around us like trees, animals, sun, moon, landscapes, etc. are parts of nature. It is said that things that are not made by humans are parts of nature. But What things are made by humans? It is nothing. Humans only modified natural things and gave them a new shape. So Eventually, everything we see, feel, and experience is Nature. Nature is an amazing blessing from God. It helps us sustain our…

2 Minute Speech on Importance Of Education

According to Wikipedia “Education is the process of the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, and habits”. This definition shows that education is not limited to books or educational institutions. Education is a lifelong journey of learning and acquiring knowledge. Hello, all the people present here, first of all, I would like to wish you all the best wishes for the day & also thank you all for having me a chance to speak a few words on education. The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. said, Aristotle. Obviously, Education gives the best interest. The change…

1 Minute Speech on Pollution

Hello All, Before I deliver my speech I would like to wish you all the best wishes. And I also want to thank you a lot for having me a chance to share my views on Pollution which is a critical threat to life on Earth. “Destruction is a man’s will, Nevertheless, Prevention is also a man’s will, Its a man’s choice to choose between Destruction and Prevention”. On the one hand, where humans are polluting the atmosphere, on the other hand, they are concerned about how to deal with it. Pollution is a big concern that is injuring our planet earth.…

2 Minute Speech on Population Explosion

Hello, everyone! I am here to present a speech on population explosion! Population Explosion means a sudden growth over a short span of time in the population of a specific area. When there is a population explosion, there are seen severe concerns such as meeting the daily needs of the population, providing employment, maintaining internal peace, & preventing social injustices etc. The rule of cause and effect says there is no effect without a cause. Population explosion is an effect of a set of causes. The first and foremost cause of population explosion is illiteracy. Illiterate people do not understand…

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Resource 12: Moral Judgment Debate Format

Resource 12, moral judgment debate format.

Moral Judgment Debate is a classroom method that offers a hybrid between debate and discussion. It does not exist in competitive high school or university tournaments. Use this format whenever you want to debate philosophical questions. For a longer, more structured form of philosophical debate, look at “Lincoln-Douglas Debate”(or “LD”), which is a 40-minute long format used in academic debate competitions. This guidance sheet is for beginners getting started or for those interested in incorporating debate as an activity or exercise.

Protocol: The goal of this style of debate is to explore multiple sides to a philosophical question. It takes place in groups of three, where one person represents the “pro” side, another represents the “con” side, and the final person is the “judge”. Unlike other forms of debate, the judge has a speaking role in this format and gives a speech in the middle of the speech as well as the end of the speech, in addition to asking elaboration questions. By giving a speech in the middle of the debate, the judge has to “reveal” or articulate current thinking, which challenges the debaters to adapt to focus their closing speeches on issues most central to the judge's decision. In total, this debate is 15 minutes in length (25 minutes total with preparation time).

Preparation of Opening Speech – 10 minutes (or longer prep days or weeks ahead of time)

• Affirmative (Pro) Opening Speech (with two points) – 2 minutes
• Cross-Examination (with “tell me more” questions by the judge) – 1 minute
• Negative (Con) Opening Speech (with two points) – 2 minutes
• Cross-Fire (Pro and Con ask questions to each other, starting with Pro) – 2 minutes

Judge Prepares Reveal Speech – 1 minute

• Judge Reveal Speech (starting with “Here is where I am right now”) – 2 minutes
• Preparation Huddle (both sides think about closing situation or issue) – 1 minute
• Affirmative (Pro) Closing Speech (focused on a specific situation or issue) – 1 minute
• Negative (Con) Closing Speech (focused on a specific situation or issue) – 1 minute
• Judge Closing Decision (with reason for decision) – 1 minute

Moral Judgment Topics: Topics in this format are always worded as a question. Some examples include:

• Is it possible to cure poverty?
• Is stealing ever okay?
• Does equal opportunity exist in sports?
• Is violence ever the appropriate response to injustice?
• Is war ever necessary?
• Do people who commit violent crimes deserve the death penalty?
• Should student evaluations determine teacher job security?
• Is it okay for teachers to play favorites?
• Is it okay to block websites in schools?

In addition to searching for “philosophical debate questions” for more topics, you can also specifically focus on different types of morality. These philosophies are obviously much more complex than articulated here, but can include:

• Utilitarianism: What is good for the greatest number of people?
• Virtue Ethics: What is just inherently good in principle?
• Deontology: Was the intent of the action good?
• Rights-Based Ethics: Does the action protect rights?
• Ethical Egoism: Which action is good for me?

Opening Case Example: The structure for an opening speech is similar to most styles of debate, including the Parliamentary Debate format, except that it focuses even more on defining key values:

1 Minute Speech on Social Media Ethics In English

A very good morning to one and all present here. Today, I will be giving a short speech on the topic of ‘Social Media Ethics’.

LinkedIn aptly defines the term ‘Social Media Ethics’ as follows: “Ethics, by definition, is the concept of what is good, bad, right and wrong. In social media, the right ethics equals the right perspective and the right thinking on how to leverage social media appropriately and how to engage people in the right manner.”

Simply put, social media ethics involves people following certain etiquette to maintain decorum, peace, and harmony. This is also referred to as ‘netiquette’.

Predominantly, social media ethics involve basic ethics such as maintaining one’s own and others’ dignity, respect and privacy. In an online platform full of virtual strangers, this becomes very important to follow to safeguard one’s own self and also others.

Linkedin, Pinterest, and YouTube are viewed as the most ethical social media companies free of a lot of ethical issues prevalent (such as identity theft).

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