Question

What is ethics ? and why is a strong sense of ethical responsibility vital for public speakers ?

Answer 1

Ethics is a set of moral principles or philosophy that people ascribe to and directs the way people live. Ethics can come from various sources education, culture, environment of nurture or parental care, society or religion. They have evolved with mankind over the years and ethics of older generations are often questioned by present generations, some even terming centuries-older morality as savage or outright immoral. However, the way to understanding ethical behaviour is to take it in context with the society and culture that was prevalent at the time (Silberbauer, 2013). What appears immoral now was considered sensible in other times e.g. brother-sister royal weddings in Egypt, stoning a woman to death for adultery in medieval Europe.

Ethics come into play in virtually every aspect of life - homes, business, politics, legal and policing. A lot of the world populace also agrees on what ethical behaviour should be - in general. Most people share a common moral outlook - commonsense morality (Kagan, 2018), which is what helps the world function together, or at least in tandem.

Ethics is an important aspect of public speaking and communication as it can have the effect of transmitting ethical considerations and values to others. In the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, colleges are increasingly offering communication ethics courses - up 51% from 20 years ago, as they turn their attention to applied ethics and moral reasoning (Swenson-Lepper et al, 2015).

According to Thonssen and Baird (1948) "The cultivation of a sense of responsibility for the uttered statement is a crying imperative for public speakers today - just as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow.". There is a great need to balance effective public speaking with ethical communication. Winning a debate or convincing an audience should not override ethical responsibility in the practice of human communication (Jensen, 2013).

Public speaking can include verbal communication and body language, objectivity and point of view and most importantly language and inferences. People who practice public speaking should make note of the responsibility that comes with it, that any ideas projected might be absorbed by listeners who could then further transmit the idea to others. These ideas could translate into actions and the actions into further consequences. A responsible public speaker should anticipate and adjust his/her speech accordingly to ensure that the (ethically) right message is put across without room for misunderstandings or negative connotations.

References :

Kagan, Shelly.(2018) Normative Ethics. 25

Jensen, J. Vernon., (2013) Ethical issues in the communication process. 4

Silberbauer, George. (2013) Ethics in small-scale societies. A companion to Ethics.

Swenson-Lepper, Tammy., Leavitt, Michelle A., Hoffer, Melba., Charron, Lori N. , Ballard, Robert L., McManus, Leeanne M. Bell., Holba, Annette M., Jovanovic, Spoma., Tompkins, Paula S. (2015) Communication Ethics in the Communication Curriculum: United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Communication Education 64:4. 472-490

Thonssen, Baird (1948) Speech Criticism. 470