Ethics Defined: That branch of philosophy that deals with questions of right and wrong.

Why consider Ethics in Public Speaking?

1. Persuasive speaking is a form of ìpowerî and all power relationships involve ethical considerations.

2. The human ìlife timeî consumed from your audience during your speech can never be recovered or replaced.

Guidelines for
Ethical Speaking

1. Make sure your Goals are ethically sound.

2. Be FULLY prepared for each speech.

3. Be Honest in what you say.

4. Avoid Name-Calling and other forms of abusive language.

5. Put Ethical principles into practice.

Plagiarism Defined

Taking another personís language or ideas and claiming it as your own.

Types of Plagiarism

1. Global Plagiarism: taking an entire speech from a single source and claiming it as your own.

2. Patchwork Plagiarism: patching a speech together from two or three sources and claiming it as your own.

3. Incremental Plagiarism: when a speaker fails to give credit for parts - increments - of a speech that are borrowed from other people.

4. Reverse Plagiarism: attributing fictitious words to a real source or person.

Avoiding Plagiarism

1. Start to work on your speech as soon as possible - helps resist temptation.

2. Consult a large number of research sources to prevent relying on one or two.

3. Take careful research notes and distinguish between direct quotes, paraphrases, and your own ideas.

Guidelines for
Ethical Listening

1. Be Courteous and Attentive toward the speaker.

2. Avoid Pre-judging the speaker.

3. Maintain the free and open expression of ideas.