Chapter 3 Review

“Strive to be an ethical public speaker.”

As you saw with the scenario of being truthful with a romantic partner about your opinion of an expensive new sweater or the story of Alex and his misleading appearance on Skype at the beginning of this chapter, public speaking can present numerous ethical challenges—dilemmas that make it difficult to determine what constitutes right and wrong behavior. In this chapter, we focused on those challenges, from both speakers’ and listeners’ perspectives. First, we discussed the different codes of ethics, including ethical absolutism, situational ethics, and cultural relativity. We then examined the differences between legal and ethical speech. We showed how people can be unethical in public speaking, mainly through lying, using half-truths, and causing false inferences. We also discussed the ethical ways to acknowledge the work of others (quoting from a source, paraphrasing, and using common knowledge). We touched on using sound reasoning, which we discuss in more depth in Chapter 18. Finally, we shared how to be an ethical listener: show courtesy, demonstrate an open mind, and hold the speaker accountable.

LaunchPad for Speak Up offers videos and encourages self-assessment through adaptive quizzing. Look for the check icon and play icon throughout the chapter for adaptive quizzing and online video activities.

Key Terms

Page 88

ethics 68

ethical absolutism 68

situational ethics 69

culturally relative 70

ethical speech 71

legally protected speech 71

half-truth 73

false inference 74

taking evidence out of context 75

omission 76

plagiarism 78

Play video paraphrasing 81

common knowledge 82

fallacious reasoning 83

hasty generalization 84

post hoc fallacy 84

ad hominem (personal attack) fallacy 85

ad populum (bandwagon) fallacy 85

ethical audience 85

Review Questions

  1. Question

    Define ethics, and explain the difference between ethical absolutism and situational ethics.
    Define ethics, and explain the difference between ethical absolutism and situational ethics.

  2. Question

    What ethical responsibilities does the speaker have in a public speaking situation?

  3. Question

    What rules govern legally protected speech? How do they differ from the rules governing ethical speech? Which category is broader, and why?

  4. Question

    Describe three ways in which a speaker can present untruthful information.

  5. Question

    Name and describe the different types of false inferences covered in this chapter.

  6. Question

    Define plagiarism, and explain the importance of properly citing your sources.
    Define plagiarism, and explain the importance of properly citing your sources.

  7. Question

    How is a paraphrase different from a quote? How are they similar?

  8. Question

    What are the ethical responsibilities of the audience in a public speaking situation?

Critical Thinking Questions

  1. Question

    As an audience member, have you ever felt that a speaker was intentionally misleading you? What gave you this feeling? How might you have verified her or his facts?

  2. Page 89

    Question

    How does the failure to properly acknowledge a source in a speech affect the speaker’s credibility?

  3. Question

    The illustration on page 69 poses the ethical dilemma that arises when someone who loves or trusts you asks your opinion about something that may be personal to him or her and the truth may be uncomfortable for this person to hear. How would you handle an ethical dilemma like this? What is more important—keeping this person happy or telling the truth?
    The illustration on page 69 poses the ethical dilemma that arises when someone who loves or trusts you asks your opinion about something that may be personal to him or her and the truth may be uncomfortable for this person to hear. How would you handle an ethical dilemma like this? What is more important—keeping this person happy or telling the truth?

  4. Question

    Name a practice on your campus that is legal but not necessarily ethical. Why do you think students engage in this practice, and what would you say to a friend who is considering it?

Activities

  1. Question

    As indicated earlier in this chapter, the approach to ethics can vary by individual and culture. Consider your family’s cultural background: what examples might you provide that show some variance of opinion about ethics and communication? For example, how do members of your family feel about exaggerations or little white lies—as opposed to big lies? Do they tolerate the former and reject the latter? Do they think they are all unacceptable—or all unavoidable? Where do you stand on these questions?
    Chapter 3 - Activity Question 1

  2. Question

    Review your school’s policies on plagiarism. How clear is the definition of plagiarism? Do you think the guidelines provide clear rules for citing others’ work? What is the punishment for stealing someone else’s words or ideas? Based on this information and what you’ve learned in this chapter, where would you draw the line between plagiarizing material for a speech and using the material as inspiration for what you write?
    Chapter 3 - Activity Question 2

  3. Question

    Listen to a few of the twentieth century’s greatest speeches (you can find most of them at AmericanRhetoric.com). Do they all stand up to ethical scrutiny? Does the Internet—which has multiple Web sites devoted to fact-checking in real time—make modern public figures more or less careful about what they say?
    Chapter 3 - Activity Question 3