Speaking ethically rests on a foundation of dignity and integrity and flows from certain moral ground rules, or “pillars of character.”14 These include being trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair, and civic-minded. These bear close resemblance to the civic virtues so important in the early democracy of Greece, and they remain equally critical to upholding our own democracy today.
Focus on Dignity and Integrity
The qualities of dignity and integrity should infuse every aspect of a speech. Dignity refers to bearing and conduct that are respectful to self and others. Audience members instinctively distrust speakers who act without dignity and who fail to make them feel worthy and respected as individuals. Each of us wants to be accorded dignity.
Integrity signals the speaker’s incorruptibility—that he or she will avoid compromising the truth for the sake of personal expediency.15 For example, slanting facts to persuade audience members to do something you want them to do lacks integrity. Speakers who demonstrate dignity and integrity care about themselves and their listeners. They also exhibit a hallmark of ethical speaking: concern for the greater good.
Be Trustworthy
We find speakers trustworthy when we sense that they are honest about their intentions and don’t sacrifice the truth to achieve their aims. Trustworthiness is a combination of honesty and dependability. Trustworthy speakers support their points truthfully and don’t present misleading or false information. Manipulating data to achieve a particular purpose is untrustworthy, as are any attempts to deceive an audience by misrepresentation, omission, or making up of information (see Chapter 8 on the ethical use of statistics).
Truth telling can be an especially difficult issue in persuasive speeches (see Chapters 24–26). When the goal is to try to persuade others, the temptation is to fashion the information in a way that fits the goal, even if it means omitting a fact here or there that would convince the audience otherwise. But all kinds of speeches, not just persuasive ones, should be built on the truth. Acknowledging sources is also an essential aspect of being a trustworthy speaker (see rules for avoiding plagiarism later in this chapter).
Demonstrate Respect
Speakers demonstrate respect by addressing audience members as unique human beings and refraining from any form of personal attack. They behave with civility and courtesy.16 The respectful speaker focuses on issues rather than personalities and allows the audience autonomy, or the power of rational choice. Sensationalist or lurid appeals rob audience members of this power. In most cases, it’s not necessary to use graphic pictures or upsetting verbal descriptions just to make a point. More drastically, drowning out a speaker’s message with which you disagree—called a heckler’s veto—robs us of the ability to make up our own minds about an issue and silences the free expression of ideas. Tolerance for opposing viewpoints is a necessary ingredient of a democratic society.
Make Responsible Choices
Communication is a strong tool for influencing people, and even one message has the potential to change people’s lives. Responsibility means being accountable for what you say. For example, will learning about your topic in some way benefit listeners? Do you use sound evidence and reasoning? (See Chapter 25 on developing arguments.) Do you offer emotional appeals because they are compelling rather than to shore up otherwise weak arguments? (See Chapter 24.)
Demonstrate Fairness
Few subjects are black and white; rarely is there only one right or wrong way to view a topic. Fairness refers to making a genuine effort to see all sides of an issue and acknowledge the information listeners need in order to make informed decisions.
Be Civic-Minded
Being civic-minded means caring about your community, in word and deed. It means recognizing that things don’t get better unless people volunteer their efforts to improve things. At the broadest level, being civic-minded is essential to the democratic process because democracy depends on our participation in it.