NFGS_ch1.4_lecppt.pptx

1. Chapter 1.4
Ethics and Freedom of Speech
Copyright © 2022 W. W. Norton & Company

2. Introduction
• Ethics is a system of principles about what is right or wrong, moral
or immoral, and bad or good about a belief or action
• Ethical questions arise in every rhetorical situation, and how you
answer these questions determines whether or not you have chosen
to be an ethical speaker
• The very best speakers commit themselves to making ethical
decisions as they develop and deliver their presentations and speak
honestly with the well-being of their audiences foremost in their
minds
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3. A Credo for Ethical Communication
• The National Communication Association (NCA) promotes its
Credo for Ethical Communication, which describes what it means
to be an ethical communicator
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4. A Credo for Ethical Communication: Preamble (1 of 2)
• Questions of right and wrong arise whenever people communicate
• Ethical communication is fundamental to responsible thinking,
decision making, and the development of relationships and
communities within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and
media
• Moreover, ethical communication enhances human worth and
dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personal
integrity, and respect for self and others
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5. A Credo for Ethical Communication: Preamble (2 of 2)
• We believe that unethical communication threatens the well-being
of individuals and the society in which we live
• Therefore we, the members of the National Communication
Association, endorse and are committed to practicing the
following principles of ethical communication
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6. A Credo for Ethical Communication: Principles (1 of 2)
• We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as
essential to the integrity of communication
• We endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and
tolerance of dissent to achieve the informed and responsible
decision-making fundamental to a civil society
• We strive to understand and respect other communicators before
evaluating and responding to their messages
• We promote access to communication resources and
opportunities as necessary to fulfill human potential and
contribute to the well-being of families, communities, and society
• We promote communication climates of caring and mutual
understanding that respect the unique needs and characteristics
of individual communicators
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7. A Credo for Ethical Communication: Principles (2 of 2)
• We condemn communication that degrades individuals and
humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence,
and through the expression of intolerance and hatred
• We are committed to the courageous expression of personal
conviction in pursuit of fairness and justice
• We advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings when
facing significant choices while also respecting privacy and
confidentiality
• We accept responsibility for the short- and long-term
consequences of our own communication and expect the same of
others
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8. Ethical Decision Making
• Every good speaker should consider the ethical implications of
strategic decision making at every stage of the rhetorical
speechmaking process
• It can also enhance the value and success of your presentations
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9. Ethical Decisions about the Occasion
• Ethical communicators respect and adapt to what makes every
speaking occasion special and unique
• As a speaker, you should honor your audience’s expectations
about the occasion and plan a presentation that honestly and
respectfully conforms to the occasion’s focus, setting, and logistics
• Stick to your time limit and your assigned topic
• Make sure to not misuse an occasion to suit only your private
goals
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10. Ethical Decisions about Yourself
• Demonstrate to the audience that you are trustworthy
• When they see and hear you, make sure they conclude that you are
a good person speaking well.
• Do the work necessary to be knowledgeable about your topic so
that whatever you say will genuinely benefit your audience as well
as respect their time and attention
• When making an argument, honestly and accurately acknowledge
the best versions of other points of view while making a case for
your own
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11. Ethical Decisions about Your Audience
• Commit yourself to being an audience-centered speaker
• Be fair to your listeners and use what you learn about them to
help them
• Use inclusive language that seeks your listeners’ understanding
• Changing your message as you move from group to group may
demonstrate that you are skilled at audience analysis and
adaptation, but it is an unethical communication practice if the
two messages conflict with each other
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12. Ethical Decisions about Your Purpose
• Make sure you and your audience will benefit if you achieve your
purpose
• Your private goals (if any) should always complement your overall
purpose or at least not conflict with it
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13. Ethical Decisions about Your Content
• Your claims should be well founded and reasonable
• Make sure your supporting material is up to date and accurate
• Your position should always be supported and justified by valid
evidence and statistics that are used in a honest, clear, and
relevant manner
• By making ethical decisions about content, you ensure that your
presentation will be truthful and fair
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14. The Perils of Plagiarism (1 of 2)
• Plagiarism occurs when you fail to document or give credit to the
sources of your information and/or present their statements as
your own
• If the original ideas and words presented are not yours, you are
ethically obligated to tell your audience who wrote or said them
and where they came from
• Plagiarizing a portion of a presentation, even unknowingly, can
undermine or destroy whatever credibility you have otherwise
established with your audience and undercut all the other good
things that you’ve done on your own
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15. The Perils of Plagiarism (2 of 2)
• Compare the following speeches:
Michelle Obama’s 2008 speech
“And Barack and I were raised with
so many of the same values: that you work hard for
what you want in life; that your word is your bond
and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you
treat people with dignity and respect, even if you
don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with
them.
“Because we want our children—and all children in
this nation—to know that the only limit to the height
of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and
your willingness to work for them.”
Melania Trump’s 2016 speech
“From a young age, my parents impressed on me the
values that you work hard for what you want in life,
that your word is your bond and you do what you say
and keep your promise, that you treat people with
respect.
“Because we want our children in this nation to know
that the only limit to your achievements is the
strength of your dreams and your willingness to work
for them.”
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16. Ethical Decisions about Delivery
• Ethical speakers use their verbal and nonverbal delivery skills to
share a meaningful message, not to distract or mislead an
audience
• When an emotional performance is used to mask the truth or to
present a fallacious argument , it is unethical
• A speaker’s delivery reflects and reinforces the other ethical
decisions they have made about their presentation
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17. The Good Audience
• Being a good listener is the foundational first step to being an
ethical audience member
• Ethical audience members allow a speaker to be heard even if they
disagree with the speaker’s view
• Ethical audience members provide honest feedback that allows
speakers to accurately and appropriately adapt their
presentations to audience responses
• Ethical audience members should always treat the speaker the
way they would want an audience to treat them
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18. Free Speech (1 of 2)
• The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects every
American citizen from interference or suppression of their speech
by the federal government
• Many Americans erroneously believe that any heckling, vocal
objections, or some other form of social punishment for their
speech is a violation of their constitutional rights
• The best protection of your right to free speech is to express your
opinions respectfully, back up those opinions with legitimate facts
and valid reasoning, and provide defensible responses to audience
objections
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19. Free Speech (2 of 2)
• As an audience member, it can be challenging to both defend
everyone’s right to speak and to productively oppose unethical
communication
• Understanding, thinking critically about, and responding to other
people’s arguments is the more responsible, ethical, and effective
strategy
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20. Conclusion
• A good speaker is a good person speaking well
• The NCA’s Credo for Ethical Communication expresses the guiding
values of an ethical speaker in a democratic society
• The intertwined and sometimes competing principles of
communication ethics and freedom of speech make contemporary
life complicated but form “a base from which we can practically
pursue truth together in the midst of difficult and uneasy answers
in a complex and ideologically diverse human community,” as
stated by ethics scholar Ronald C. Arnett
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21. Credits
This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 1.4.
For more resources, please visit The Norton Field Guide to Speaking:
http://digital.wwnorton.com/nfgspeaking.
Copyright © 2022 W. W. Norton & Company