Speaking Ethically

Imagine that you are preparing a speech on the benefits of a new drug, and you find a direct quotation that clearly establishes your argument. Unfortunately, you soon realize that the source of your quotation is actually a lobbyist who works for the pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug. You really want to use this quotation as your attention-getter, but you realize that the source is clearly biased. Which of the following options do you think is the most ethical? Why?

  1. Disregard the quotation and find another way to start your speech.
  2. Use the quotation, but acknowledge that the source comes from a paid lobbyist of the pharmaceutical company who manufactures the drug.
  3. Use the quotation and just give the name of the source. If your audience is interested in your topic, they'll do their own research and make informed decisions for themselves.


End-of-Chapter Assessment

  1. During a keynote presentation, the speaker mentions that she is the head of neurology at a major medical center. The speaker then goes on to discuss why wearing helmets is important for bicyclists of all ages. What factor of credibility has the speaker attempted to establish?
    1. competence
    2. caring/goodwill
    3. extroversion
    4. trustworthiness
    5. character
  2. A kid perched on the roof of his house one day notices a wolf walking by. The kid yells at the wolf, "Evil, vile creature! Why have you come near honest folks' homes?" The wolf quickly replied, "It is easy to be brave from a safe distance". What type of attention-getting device does this represent?
    1. personal reference
    2. fairy tale
    3. personal anecdote
    4. parable or fable
    5. humor
  3. During an introduction, a speaker says, "I realize that many of us disagree on the use of corporal punishment in public schools. I just ask that you listen to my arguments with an open mind". Which aspect of credibility is the speaker attempting to enhance?
    1. competence
    2. caring/goodwill
    3. extroversion
    4. trustworthiness
    5. character
  4. Which of the following is a function of a thesis statement ?
    1. It provides a clear ending point for your speech.
    2. It helps to organize your introduction.
    3. It enhances your language usage.
    4. It expresses the body points in your speech.
    5. It clarifies your perspective about your topic.
  5. What part of an introduction does the following sentence represent? "Today we're going to examine the video gaming industry by first discussing the history of video games, then by examining the current trends in video gaming, and lastly, by discussing the future of video games".
    1. attention-getter
    2. link to topic
    3. preview
    4. thesis
    5. significance of topic


Answer Key

  1. a
  2. d
  3. b
  4. e
  5. c


Introduction Worksheet

Directions: Use this worksheet to map out the introduction to your next speech.

  1. What is your general purpose ? (circle one)
    To inform To persuade To entertain
  2. What is your specific purpose ?

    ____________________________________________

    ____________________________________________

    ____________________________________________

  3. Which attention-getting device do you plan on using?

    ____________________________________________

    ____________________________________________

    ____________________________________________

  4. How will you link your attention-getting device to your actual topic?

    ____________________________________________

    ____________________________________________

    ____________________________________________

  5. Why should your audience listen to your speech?

    ____________________________________________

    ____________________________________________

    ____________________________________________

  6. How will you establish your credibility during speech?
    1. Competence

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

    2. Trustworthiness

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

    3. Caring/goodwill

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

    4. What is your thesis statement ?

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

  7. What are your three main body points?
    1. Body point 1

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

    2. Body point 2

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

    3. Body point 3

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

    4. Write a preview of your three main body points.

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

      ____________________________________________

Speaking Ethically

Johanna was in the midst of preparing her speech. She'd done the research and found a number of great sources for her speech. The specific purpose of her speech was to persuade a group of wildlife experts to step up their help for saving the water channel between the islands of Maui and Lanai, an area where humpback whales migrate during the winter to give birth.

Johanna had a very strong first point and a strong third point, but she just couldn't shake the fact that her middle point really was underdeveloped and not as strong as the other two. In fact, the middle point was originally going to be her last point, but when her research went bust she ultimately downgraded the point and sandwiched it in between the other two. Now that she looked at her second point, she realized that the sources weren't credible and the point should probably be dropped.

In the back of Johanna's head, she heard that small voice reminding her of the fact that most audiences don't remember the middle of the speech, so it really won't matter anyway.

  1. Is it unethical to use a main point that you know is underdeveloped?
  2. Should a speaker ever purposefully put less credible information in the middle of a speech, knowing that people are less likely to remember that information?
  3. If you were Johanna, what would you do?


End-of-Chapter Assessment

  1. Juan is finishing writing his specific purpose. He brainstorms about his specific purpose and finally settles on three topics he plans on talking about during his speech. What are these three topics called?
    1. specific topics
    2. main points
    3. generalized topics
    4. specific points
    5. main topics
  2. Which speech format does the following outline represent?
    Specific Purpose To inform my audience about the life of Paris Hilton
    Main Points I. Describe Paris Hilton's life before she became famous.
    II. Describe Paris Hilton's first job as a model working for Donald Trump.
    III. Describe Paris Hilton's transition from model to media personality.
    1. atopical
    2. categorical/topical
    3. biographical
    4. spatial
    5. psychological
  3. Which speech format does the following outline represent?
    Specific Purpose To persuade my audience to invest in VetoMax
    Main Points I. Tell the history of VetoMax.
    II. Explain the VetoMax advantage.
    III. Describe the VetoMax pledge to investors.
    1. atopical
    2. categorical/topical
    3. biographical
    4. spatial
    5. psychological
  4. Bobby is creating a speech related to the Hawaiian islands. He plans on talking about each of the islands in order from southeast to northwest. Which speech format is probably the most effective for Bobby's speech?
    1. atopical
    2. categorical/topical
    3. biographical
    4. spatial
    5. psychological
  5. What is a phrase or sentence that indicates that a speaker is moving from one main point in a speech to another main point in a speech?
    1. transition
    2. guidepost
    3. internal preview
    4. internal summary
    5. thesis statement


Answer Key

  1. b
  2. c
  3. b
  4. d
  5. a

Speaking Ethically

Tika's speech on death camps in Africa was a real flop, and she knew it. The speech was quickly prepared, inadequately researched, and not very logical. Thankfully, Tika knew she had an ace in her back pocket. She planned on ending her speech with a video showing mass graves that she knew would make people sick.

She thought, Who cares if your speech sucks as long as you get them in the end!

  1. Would you say that Tika's approach to public speaking is ethical? Why or why not?
  2. Which type of concluding device is Tika planning to use? Is this device appropriate to her speech? Why or why not? If you conclude it is not appropriate, which devices would be better approaches? Why?
  3. Is it ever ethical to rely heavily on an emotional conclusion to persuade one's audience? Why?


End-of-Chapter Assessment

  1. Karla knows that people tend to remember the information at the beginning of a speech and at the end of a speech. What is this process called?
    1. serial position effect
    2. central limit theorem
    3. law of position effect
    4. law of limits theorem
    5. serial limits theorem
  2. Which of the following best explains why conclusions are important?
    1. primacy
    2. recency
    3. closing stages
    4. predominance
    5. speech finish
  3. What is the device a speaker uses at the end of a speech to ensure that the audience is left with a mental picture predetermined by the speaker?
    1. recency device
    2. predominance device
    3. finishing device
    4. concluding device
    5. finalizing device
  4. At the end of her speech, Daniel asks his audience to sign a petition helping a candidate get on the ballot in his state. By having the audience members sign the petition right after the speech, what is Daniel engaging in?
    1. a call to public service
    2. a call to civic duty
    3. a proclamational appeal
    4. an appeal to one's general sense of right and wrong
    5. an immediate call to action
  5. Miller's (1946) concluding device "reference to audience" can best be summed up by which phrase?
    1. A good or a bad audience is still receptive.
    2. It's all about me.
    3. Don't forget to love your audience.
    4. What's in it for me?
    5. A suffering audience is a persuaded audience.


Answer Key

  1. a
  2. b
  3. d
  4. e
  5. d

Source: University of Minnesota
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Callback before_footer in local_aigrade component should be migrated to new hook callback for core\hook\output\before_footer_html_generation
  • line 7225 of /lib/moodlelib.php: call to debugging()
  • line 7292 of /lib/moodlelib.php: call to {closure}()
  • line 71 of /lib/classes/hook/output/before_footer_html_generation.php: call to get_plugins_with_function()
  • line 987 of /lib/classes/output/core_renderer.php: call to core\hook\output\before_footer_html_generation->process_legacy_callbacks()
  • line 94 of /mod/page/view.php: call to core\output\core_renderer->footer()