The Ethics of Public Speaking and Persuasion Brian Rogers Chemical Engineering 4903

Overview Ethics in Speaking Persuasion Arguing Effectively Organization

Have ethical goals Employ ethical means The Ends and The Means

Ethical dilemmas Professional obligations can create Circumstances can create The Ends and The Means

A conflict of responsibilities A choice between “the lesser of two evils” Professional Obligation

Situations dictate a change Does the end justify the means? Circumstances

Are your purposes consistent w/ prevailing norms? Would you violate your own ethics by speaking out? Are you willing to stick to your ethical principles? What are the ethical standards? Your Ethical Guidelines

Your basic ethical obligation Tell the truth Take responsibility Honesty & Accountability

To avoid plagiarism Give credit where it is due Cite sources in the speech Credit when you paraphrase Honesty & Accountability

Tough penalties for “academic dishonesty” In your career, you could lose your job and professional respect The Costs of Plagiarism

Is not expected to be perfectly objective Provides good arguments, sound reasoning and solid evidence Remains open to new information Is well informed and fully prepared Contributes useful presentations The Ethical Speaker

Deliberating in Good Faith Tell the truth, as you see it Back up your opinions Accept your burden of proof

Questions of Fact, Value, and Policy

Involve existence, scope or causality Questions about past / present Predictions of the future Require empirical proof: real examples, statistics, and expert testimony Is That The Truth? Issues of Fact

Involve what we consider good or bad, right or wrong Focus on what we believe to be appropriate, legal, ethical or moral Determine how we should evaluate facts, ideas or actions Is This Good or Bad? Issues of Value

Determine our future actions Deal with how to solve problems Evaluate options by costs, feasibility, advantages and disadvantages What Are We Going To Do? Issues of Policy

Ethical Proof in Persuasive Speaking

Ethos The audience’s perception of the speaker’s credibility

Qualities of Positive Ethos TrustworthinessCompetenceOpen-MindednessDynamism

Contextual Factors Characteristics we admire may vary by situation Some factors may be beyond our control Context affects ethos positively or negatively

Ethos Each time you speak, people form impressions of you

Strengthen Your Ethos Share audience concerns Cite reputable experts Use personal experience Be clear and interesting Consider different points of view Deliver with dynamism

Appealing to Audience Emotions

Appealing to Emotions Fundamental to motivating an audience Never a substitute for logical arguments and available evidence

Affective Language Strong language that plays on emotions Words must be chosen carefully

Identifying Shared Values Show your audience that you share values Show how your ideas relate to those values

Use Vivid Detail Listeners respond to concrete examples better than abstractions Speakers can reinforce ideas with vivid details

Use Visualization Helps the audience to “see” Stirs emotions Gets audience to think more deeply Help your audience visualize with a picture Paint ‘word pictures’

Compare Unfamiliar to Familiar Complicated and even controversial ideas can seem more familiar, and more acceptable

Ethical Considerations Avoid deception and manipulation Recognize and respect power of emotions Avoid distraction and disorientation Don’t overwhelm audience Use emotional appeals to supplement and complement well-reasoned arguments

Constructing a Reasonable Argument

Debatable assertions by the speaker Takes a side on a controversial matter and invites debate Claims

FactValuePolicy

Words that indicate our level of confidence Examples: “possibly”, “probably”, or “beyond any doubt” Qualifiers

Qualified at a level appropriate to the strength of the reasoning and evidence behind it A Reasonable Argument

Exceptions to our claim, or conditions under which we no longer hold the claim “Unless ” Reservations

Use statistics, specific examples or expert testimony or other support Consider the criteria or standards that support your evaluation Reflect on the rules, principles or standard we employ in making judgments Evidence

QualityRelevancyAmount Tests of Evidence

General assumptions that connect evidence to the claim Some warrants may be accepted by audience, and may be unstated If a warrant is controversial, it may require backing Warrants

Advocates of new policies are expected to establish Need for change A specific plan Proof the plan is workable Burden of Proof

Construction of the Argument

The Forms of Reasoning

Inductive Reasoning Moves from a set of specific examples to a general conclusion A number of representative examples makes the case Claims must carefully qualified Reservations may be needed Can be strengthened with evidence

Deductive Reasoning Draws a conclusion about a specific case based on generally accepted premise Syllogism is a classic example Usually we reason from qualified premises to probable conclusions

Deductive Reasoning Premises often already accepted by audience Speaker may assume the audience will fill in the missing premise This is “rhetorical syllogism” or enthymeme

Causal Reasoning From effect to cause, or cause to effect At the heart of scientific investigation Rarely simple Reputable sources are important Qualified due to complexity

Analogical Reasoning What is true in one case will be true in another Literal analogy compares similar examples Figurative analogy is similar to metaphor; rarely proves anything Should be qualified

How Patterns of Organization Connect Ideas

Chronological or Sequential Good for step-by-step process or historical events Begin with a specific point in time, move ahead or back from there

Spatial Organizes according to space or physical relationship

Categorical Arrange by distinct topics Addressestypesformsqualitiesaspects

Climactic Simple to difficult, least to most, neutral to intense Effective for gaining audience agreement or action Can also reverse the pattern, from most to least

Cause & Effect Moves from cause to effect, or effect to cause Good to explain how an event unfolded Chronology does not equal cause Guard against over-simplification

Problem - Solution Typically used in persuasive speaking Speaker usually proposes a best solution

Problem - Solution Reflective Thinking Sequence Causes & extent of problem? Effects of problem? Criteria by which solutions should be judged? Possible solutions (strengths & weaknesses) Best solution? Put into effect how? Definition & limits of problems

Motivated Sequence Five step pattern ArouseDissatisfyGratifyVisualizeMove Combines emotional and logical Convince the audience they can effect change

Narrative Patterns Use stories to illustrate or reinforce Use spiraling narrative for drama / climax