Chapter 5: Ethical Public Speaking

Take Responsibility for Your Words

Public speakers are in the unusual position of being able to influence or persuade people and, at times, move them to act—for better or for worse. With this power to affect the minds and hearts of others comes responsibility—the heart of ethics. One definition of responsibility is “a moral obligation to behave correctly towards or in respect of a person or thing.”² Ethics is the study of moral conduct—how a given culture or group within it believes people should act toward one another. Applied to public speaking, communication ethics addresses our ethical responsibilities when seeking influence over other people and for which there are positive and negative, or “right” or “wrong,” choices of action.³ It refers to the duties and obligations we have toward our audience and ourselves as well as the responsibilities we have as listeners.

Demonstrate Competence and Character

Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, meaning “character.” According to Aristotle, audiences listen to and trust speakers who demonstrate positive ethos (positive character); in fact, he said that speakers needed to do this at the beginning of their speeches. Positive ethos includes the virtues of competence (as demonstrated by the speaker’s grasp of the subject matter), good moral character (as reflected in the speaker’s trustworthiness, honest presentation of the message, and lack of ulterior motives), and goodwill (as demonstrated by the speaker’s attitude of respect toward the audience and concern for their common good).

For Aristotle, speakers were regarded positively only when they were well-prepared, honest, and respectful toward their audience. Some 2,500 years later, surprisingly little has changed. Modern research on source credibility reveals that people place their greatest trust in speakers who

have a solid grasp of the subject,
display sound reasoning skills,
are honest and straightforward, and
are genuinely interested in the welfare of their listeners.⁴

Listeners tend to distrust speakers who deviate even slightly from these qualities. However, merely being an expert or even honest is not enough to inspire listeners’ trust. Studies reveal that we trust only those speakers who we believe have our best interests in mind.

Respect Your Listeners’ Values

Our ethical conduct and sense of right and wrong are reflected in our values—our most enduring judgments or standards of what’s good in life, of what’s important to us. Values shape our worldview, drive our behavior,⁵ and form the basis on which we judge the actions of others.

Because values are so closely linked to identity, careful consideration of them is an important aspect of preparing an ethical speech. No member of an audience wants his or her values attacked, treated without respect, or even merely unacknowledged. Yet like the individuals who hold them, values can conflict and clash. The more diverse the society, the greater these clashes will tend to be. One only has to think of the so-called values divide in the United States between “red states” (representing conservative values) and “blue states” (representing liberal values).

Conflicting values lie at the heart of many controversies that today’s public speakers might address, making it difficult to speak about certain topics without challenging cherished beliefs. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center Values Survey, Americans’ values and basic beliefs “are more polarized along partisan lines than at any point in the past 25 years.”⁶ The United States is a country of immigrants, for example, but nearly half of the population (46 percent) believes that “too many” immigrants threaten traditional U.S. values and customs, while 48 percent of Americans disagree.⁷ Some of us support same-sex marriage while others firmly oppose it.

As you plan speeches on controversial topics, anticipate that audience members will hold a range of values that will differ not only from your own, but from each other’s, and proceed with sensitivity. Audience analysis is key to discovering and planning for these differences (see Chapter 6 on values and how to identify and appeal to them in audience members).

Evaluate Frameworks for Ethical Decision Making

Each of us searches for answers to questions of living, of what makes our lives good or bad and our actions right or wrong. Ethics addresses these questions of what we “should” or “ought” to do, including as public speakers. It attempts the difficult task of applying standards of correct conduct to new and confusing circumstances.⁸ Should I flash a gory photograph on a screen without warning to convince audience members not to text and drive? Should I bother to check the credibility of a source before offering it to the audience? Is it ethical to present only one side of an argument?

Ethical theories attempt to answer questions such as these, proposing criteria or standards with which to distinguish ethical from nonethical behavior. Three of the most prominent of these theories are consequentialist, rules-based, and virtue ethics. Mirroring the diverse perspectives people bring to ethical quandaries, the theories differ in the standards they offer and values they prioritize, making them useful tools in clarifying our own values and forming decisions about ethical issues. Note that in practice, many people tend to use a blend of the different theories.

Consequentialist ethics suggests that it is the outcome or consequence of our conduct that ultimately determines its rightness. Ethical acts are those that maximize a good outcome. A hallmark of consequentialist ethics is “the greatest good for the greatest number of people.” Providing the most useful or relevant information you can discover about a topic, for as many in the audience as possible, is one way of ensuring an ethical speech from a consequentialist perspective.
Rules-based ethics focuses on our duty to do what is inherently right, as established in widely accepted moral rules or norms, such as those in the Ten Commandments, Eightfold Path of Buddhism, or even a university honor code. From a rules-based perspective, a good outcome is not as important as “doing what is right.” One way to apply a rules-based standard of ethics in your speech is to check it against the standards specified by the course instructor or university handbook, or by the National Communication Association’s credo for ethical communication.
Virtue ethics emphasizes the role of individual moral character in guiding ethical decisions. Introduced by Aristotle as democracy emerged in Greece, virtue ethics grew out of the need to cultivate civic-minded persons who could “rule and be ruled” in an ethical manner.⁹ Then, as today, virtue ethics suggests that when we strive to develop positive character traits (“virtues”) such as truthfulness, civility, modesty, courage, and intellectual integrity, we can rely on our own good character and practical wisdom to do the right thing. Using virtue ethics as a measure of a speech, you might check for lapses in judgment. Do you act with honesty and integrity toward the audience? Do you stay true to yourself? Are your speech aims positive, and does your message contribute to the common good?

Bring Your Own Values into Focus

Analyzing the underlying values that lead you to your position on an issue can help you gain a deeper understanding of why you feel as you do. It can also sensitize you to the need to consider the values of your audience members.

Through extensive research, psychologist Milton Rokeach identified thirty-six values important to a large cross section of people, distinguishing between two kinds of values: instrumental and terminal. Instrumental values are socially desirable behavioral characteristics, such as being courageous. Terminal values are desirable states of being, such as living a comfortable life.

To bring some of your personal values into focus, complete the self-assessment exercise in the accompanying checklist. To identify which values mean the most to you, rank both terminal and instrumental values from least to most important. Then compare what you care about with what your audience analysis indicates that your listeners might value (see Figure 5.1). Where your values overlap those of your audience, you may be able to identify some common ground from which to present your topic.