Suggested Activities for Chapter 3

1. After reviewing Joe’s example in the introduction, assign students to one of three ethical groups: situational, culturally relative, and absolute. Ask each group to determine what people with that ethical approach would say about Joe’s situation.
2. Give students a few days to search newspapers for articles dealing with rights, justice, and utility issues. Ask students to identify the complex ethical issues raised. See if students can tell whether the writers or people mentioned in the articles follow situational, culturally relative, or absolute ethics.
3. Let students explore the use of fallacies in speeches. Either provide students with sample student outlines from previous semesters or have students read political speeches on the Internet to locate fallacies.
4. Let students as a class write an ethical code of conduct for both speakers and listeners. Go through each guideline to ensure that students understand the expectations of the code. Distribute a copy of the code to each student.
5. Invite a guest speaker to give a brief (five- to ten-minute) presentation on ethical considerations that he or she faces in everyday public communication.
6. Show a videotaped speech in class or have students attend a public speech to analyze how well the speaker uses the ethical guidelines presented in this chapter. Ask the class to identify accurate attribution of a quotation and a paraphrase. Have the class note any moments that are questionably ethical, and explain why. Do students find the speaker credible? Why or why not? This activity serves as a useful summary of the major textbook sections and illustrates the principles in action.