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What This Course Asks of YouH opefully by now you are convinced that this course has much to offer in terms of practical benefits, personal growth, and knowledge of an interactive, dynamic process. Now it is time to consider: what does this course ask of you in return? Obviously, the course asks that you make a commitment of time and energy. But beyond this commitment, the course asks that you take seriously your ethical responsibilities as a communicator. Public speaking can be a powerful tool in shaping the attitudes and actions of listeners. As such, it requires great respect for and sensitivity to your responsibilities as a speaker. Because just about every aspect of putting together and presenting speeches can raise ethical questions, you will encounter relevant discussions and Ethics Alert! features throughout this text. In addition, the code of ethics of the National Communication Association, the Credo for Ethical Communication, is reprinted at the end of this chapter. In this final section, we discuss three major considerations that underlie ethical public speaking: respect for the integrity of ideas and information, a genuine concern for consequences, and the shared responsibilities of listeners. Respect for the Integrity of Ideas and Information Respect for the integrity of ideas and information requires that you speak from responsible knowledge, use communication techniques carefully, and avoid plagiarism. Speaking from Responsible Knowledge. No one expects you to be an expert as you speak in class. You should, however, make an effort to acquire responsible knowledge of your subject. As we discuss in detail in Chapter 7, responsible knowledge of a topic includes I knowing the main points of concern. I understanding what experts believe about them. Have students identify a speaker they regard as credible and charismatic. Discuss what factors or behaviors contribute to this perception. Note any differences in responses between ESL students and their classmates. Have students keep a record of the changes they notice in themselves while they are in the public speaking course. Are they more willing to speak out in other classes? Do they participate more freely in groups? Ask students to describe an incidence of public communication that they felt was unethical. Consider what factors were involved and whether this made them change their opinion of the communicator. responsible knowledge An understanding of the major features, issues, information, latest developments, and local applications relevant to a topic. Public Speaking, Eighth Edition, by Michael Osborn, Suzanne Osborn and Randall Osborn. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. 18 Part One The Foundations of Public Speaking I being aware of the most recent events or discoveries concerning them. I realizing how these points affect the lives of listeners. Responsible knowledge requires that you know more about a topic than your audience so that your speech has something useful to give them. Consider how Stephen Huff, one of our students at the University of Memphis, acquired responsible knowledge for an informative speech. Stephen knew little about earthquakes before his speech, but he knew that Memphis was on the New Madrid fault and that this location could mean trouble. He also knew that a major earthquake research center was located on campus. Stephen arranged for an interview with the center s director. During the interview, he asked a series of well-planned questions: Where was the New Madrid fault, and what was the history of its activity? What was the probability of a major quake in the area in the near future? How prepared was Memphis for a major quake? What kind of damage could result? How could his listeners prepare for it? What readings would the director recommend? All these questions were designed to gain knowledge that would interest and benefit his listeners. Armed with knowledge from the interview, Stephen went to the library and found the readings suggested by the director. He was well on his way to giving a good speech. You should follow Stephen s example. Acquiring responsible knowledge takes time and effort, but it is well worth the work. Careful Use of Communication Techniques. Some of the most useful techniques for communicating ideas and information can also be misused by speakers to confuse or mislead an audience or to hide the speaker s agenda. Consider, for instance, the practice called quoting out of context. In Chapter 8, we encourage you to cite experts and respected authorities to support important and controversial assertions. However, this becomes ethically troublesome when speakers distort the meanings of such statements to support their own positions. Many social activists, for instance, argue that certain leaders routinely invoke Martin Luther King s dream of a color-blind society to roll back the progressive social reforms that he helped to inspire. In his famous I Have a Dream speech, for example, King offered his vision of a world in which we would judge people not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. One state official offered these words to justify ending scholarships to the state s college and universities targeted for black students. A prominent governor used the same dream to explain why he was appointing only white men to the board running the university system in his state. A well-known theater critic in New York invoked King s wisdom to condemn the formation of black theatrical companies.18 The problem, of course, is that these people were using King s own words to defeat the kinds of things he wanted to encourage. King wanted to remove the massive barriers of segregation that had too long constrained the advancement of black people. These manipulators of his words applied his principles out of the context of that purpose to attack programs and policies specifically designed to help black people recover from a history of oppression. Environmentalists also point to an example of quoting out of context, which they feel may have grave consequences for our planet s future. They allege that the quoting out of context An unethical use of a quotation that changes or distorts the original speaker s meaning or intent by not including parts of the quote. Public Speaking, Eighth Edition, by Michael Osborn, Suzanne Osborn and Randall Osborn. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 1 Public Speaking and You 19 Bush administration distorted a National Academy of Sciences report in 2001 to justify not taking decisive action sooner to counter global warming. After pointing out alarming signs of climate change, the report had concluded: The changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly due to human activities, but we cannot rule out that some significant part of these changes are also a reflection of natural variability. In responding to the report, government representatives focused on the natural variability qualifier to make the claim that the report was inconclusive as to whether global warming was caused by humans.19 To avoid such ethical problems, be sure you are representing experts positions fairly when you cite them in your speeches. Throughout this text, we discuss the potential misuse of evidence, reasoning, language, visual aids, and other powerful communication techniques. You should avoid such practices like the plague! Avoiding Academic Dishonesty. For a variety of reasons, rates of academic dishonesty are apparently rising on college campuses.20 Most colleges consider this increase a serious threat to the integrity of higher education, and they stipulate penalties ranging from a major grade reduction to suspension or even expulsion from the university. You can probably find your university s policy in your student handbook or on your college Web site. Your communication department or instructor may have additional definitions and rules regarding academic dishonesty. The most blatant form of such dishonesty is plagiarism, presenting the ideas or words of others as though they were your own. Related abuses include parroting an article or speech from a newspaper, magazine, or Internet site as if it were your own creation; cutting and pasting passages verbatim from multiple sources and splicing them together as your own speech; collusion, or working with another student to present the same speech in different sections of the public speaking course, and the willful misuse or fabrication of sources of information. We strongly discourage you from committing academic dishonesty in this or any other college classes. Instructors are better at spotting academic dishonesty than some students may realize. Many departments keep files of speeches and speech outlines, instructors do talk to each other, and there are Internet resources that instructors can use for looking up stock speeches that have been pulled or purchased from the Internet. If you misrepresent information, you are only cheating yourself regardless of whether you get caught. You likely will not speak well when you do not prepare and present your own work. You end up compromising all the benefits we have described. A Concern for Consequences Recognizing the power of communication leads ethical speakers to a genuine concern for how their words might affect the lives of others. Serious speeches most often convey moral visions or dreams of communities that speakers want to promote. Speakers must reflect upon the larger consequences of making these dreams into reality. Another related concern is the impact of our speaking on the quality and integrity of public communication itself. There can be occasions that tempt us, times when the right ends might seem to justify unethical means. In the final days of a heated political campaign, for example, when we know that we re right and they re wrong, it might seem acceptable for our preferred candidates to rely on ugly character attacks, shameless fear-mongering, and fallacies such as we discuss in plagiarism Presenting the ideas and words of others without crediting them as sources. Public Speaking, Eighth Edition, by Michael Osborn, Suzanne Osborn and Randall Osborn. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. 20 Part One The Foundations of Public Speaking Ethics Alert 1.1 Avoiding Plagiarism Avoiding plagiarism is a matter of faith between yourself, your instructor, and your classmates. Be especially alert to the following: 6. Identify your sources of information: According to The 2008 American Almanac, tin cans were first used in 1811 as a means of preserving food ; or The latest issue of Time magazine notes that . . . . 7. Introduce your sources as lead-ins to direct quotations: Studs Terkel has said that a book about work is, by its very nature, about violence to the spirit as well as the body. 8. Allow yourself enough time to research and prepare your presentation. 9. Take careful notes as you do your research so that you don t later confuse your own thoughts and words with those of others. 1. Don t present or summarize someone else s speech, article, or essay as though it were your own. 2. Draw information and ideas from a variety of sources, then interpret them to create your own point of view. 3. Don t parrot other people s language and ideas as though they were your own. 4. Always provide oral citations for direct quotations, paraphrased material, or especially striking language, letting listeners know who said the words, where, and when. 5. Credit those who originate ideas: John Sheets, director of secondary curriculum and instruction at Duke University, suggests there are three criteria we should apply in evaluating our high schools. Chapter 15. But we need to always ask ourselves whether short-term benefits are worth the long-term damage of creating a communication climate in which such blatantly unethical practices are now seen to be justifiable under certain circumstances. Public communication in democratic societies should foster informed and rational decision making while reinforcing a commitment to open, tolerant, and civil discussion of issues.21 The Shared Responsibilities of Listeners Finally, no discussion of public speaking ethics would be complete without considering the shared responsibilities of listeners. Often we talk to people who have grown disenchanted with the quality of public discourse and the very prospect of democracy. It is disheartening to hear them cite their cynicism as an excuse for tuning out and ignoring public issues altogether. Nothing does more to reinforce dishonesty and demagoguery in public discussions than ignorance born of cynical indifference among otherwise good and intelligent citizens. Listeners are the ultimate arbiters of communication transactions. If public speaking is to be Constructive listeners encourage speakers, listen to speeches with open minds, and emphasize the positive values of messages. Public Speaking, Eighth Edition, by Michael Osborn, Suzanne Osborn and Randall Osborn. Published by Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 1 Public Speaking and You 21 Your public speaking class offers you many benefits. First, it helps you develop an array of practical skills ranging from techniques for the control of communication anxiety to learning how to express yourself with power and conviction. It increases your chances of success both in school and in your later professional life. It also helps you to become a better citizen, ready to participate in the communication life of a democratic society. Second, the class offers important opportunities for personal growth. It helps you understand better your own strengths and limitations and introduces you to a rich tradition of learning, the wisdom concerning public speaking that has accumulated since the time of Plato and Aristotle. It also helps you expand your cultural horizons by exposing you to the variety of backgrounds represented in the typical public speaking class. Third, the class helps you develop knowledge of an interactive, dynamic process that can enrich many dimensions of your life. As an interactive process, public speaking touches upon such factors as source, message, medium, encoding and decoding, interference, receiver, feedback, and communication setting. As a dynamic process, public speaking helps replace division among people with identification among them. It helps people overcome the barriers that separate them, and it encourages their spiritual growth in communities. The public speaking class asks several things from you in return. First, it asks for an appropriate commitment of time and energy. Second, it asks that you treat the power of speech with respect and ethical sensitivity. You must speak from responsible knowledge, and avoid the misuse of public speaking techniques and the temptations of plagiarism. You should cultivate concern for how your words might affect others. You should also take seriously your role as a critical and constructive listener for classroom speeches. In Summary 1. Visualize yourself as the speaker you hope to become by the end of this class. What specific skills will you have to acquire to make this ideal a reality? 2. Bring to class examples of advertisements that you think are ethical and unethical, and explain why. 3. Do you agree that it is better to think of American culture as a bouillabaisse or chorus rather than as a melting pot ? Can you think of other desirable metaphors for American identity? 4. Begin keeping a speech evaluation diary in which you record comments on effective and ineffective, ethical and unethical speeches you hear both in and out of class. As you observe speeches, ask yourself the following questions: (1) How did the speaker rate in terms of credibility? (2) Was the speech well adapted to its listeners needs and interests? (3) Did the speech take into account the cultural complexity of its audience? (4) Was the message clear and well structured? (5) Did the medium pose any problems? (6) Was the language and presentation of the speech effective? Date: 2015-02-16; view: 1849
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