Chapter 3: Ethical Speaking and Listening

This chapter summary is written by the authors of the authors of the text, "Public Speaking, the Evolving Art (ISBN-13:978-0-534-636727-9). It is a summary and should not take the place of reading the textbook or using the other resources provided on Angel by the publisher, course instructor or school.

Chapter Summary

Ethical communication provides a foundation for effective public speaking and listening. Ethical speakers present accurate and balanced information, carefully researching their topics, using reliable sources, and adhering to copyright laws. Plagiarism is a particularly pressing ethical problem. By recording the sources for your information, referring to those sources in your speech, and listing each source in a written bibliography, you'll avoid plagiarism. Thoroughly preparing for your presentation, using language appropriate to your audience, and giving your speech in a manner that demonstrates respect for the audience help create a productive communication climate.

Audience members also have ethical responsibilities. Ethical listeners give speakers undivided attention, respect diverse perspectives, and listen to the entire speech before making a final judgment. In addition, both ethical speakers and listeners demonstrate genuine sensitivity to cultural differences.

Effective listening helps speakers and listeners connect comfortably with each other. Lack of commitment, jumping to conclusions, becoming distracted, poor note-taking, and asking inappropriate questions detract from the public speaking experience. When listeners become fully engaged, they create a meaningful dialogue between speaker and audience.

Ethics Resource Center

With a focus on institutions and leadership, the Ethics Resource Center includes information on organizational, individual, and global ethics.

http://www.ethics.org

International Listening Association

The International Listening Association is a scholarly group dedicated to research on listening. The website includes listening tests and assessment, resources, exercises, facts, and quotes. The Listening Factoids page is especially interesting and surprising. For example, did you know that 85 percent of what we know we learn from listening?

http://www.listen.org

Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics offers extensive information on the pragmatics of ethics. This informative website includes a section regarding “A Framework For Ethical Decision Making.” This framework can help both speakers and listeners as they face ethical dilemmas in public speaking.

http://www.scu.edu/ethics

Plagiarism.org

Designed for students and instructors, this site explains types of plagiarism and provides tools you can use to avoid plagiarism.

http://www.plagiarism.org

United States Copyright Office

The U.S. Copyright Office, part of the Library of Congress, was established in 1897. The website includes basic information about copyright law and policy, including fair use. You can also find out how to copyright your own work.

http://www.loc.gov/copyright

Chapter 2: Building Your Confidence

This chapter summary is written by the authors of the authors of the text, "Public Speaking, the Evolving Art (ISBN-13:978-0-534-636727-9). It is a summary and should not take the place of reading the textbook or using the other resources provided on Angel by the publisher, course instructor or school.
 

Chapter Summary

You'll never be free of your fear of public speaking--and that's good. Why? Because those feelings motivate you to prepare for your speech. When you think about the day you're scheduled to speak, you should feel a little jolt and think, "I need to finish my research," "I need to learn more about my audience," or "I need to practice my speech again." Without nervousness to motivate you, you might not prepare thoroughly for your speech, and will likely do poorly as a result.

The key component of managing speech anxiety is developing a positive attitude toward public speaking. Visualization, relabeling, and relaxation techniques help you develop that attitude, increase your confidence as a speaker, and decrease your nervousness. Still, you need more than the right mental framework to manage your fear of public speaking. Thorough planning, preparation, and practice give you the confidence that you are truly ready for your presentation. All speakers must learn to live with feelings of nervousness. In this chapter, you've learned about many concrete strategies to cope with these feelings. As you develop ways to manage your speech anxiety, you'll become more confident as a speaker. Rather than overwhelming you, the nervousness you feel can help you present a dynamic, engaging, and audience-centered speech.

Mayo Clinic on Relexation


http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/relaxation-technique/SR00007


Relaxation Techniques

http://www.mindtools.com/stress/RelaxationTechniques/IntroPage.htm


Relaxation.com


http://www.relaxation.com/


Learning Meditation


http://www.learningmeditation.com/http://www.learningmeditation.com/

MedLine Plus: Phobias
Sponsored by the U.S. National  Library of Medicine and the U.S. Institutes of Health, this section of the site explains the nature of phobias and includes links to a wide variety of resources.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/phobias.html
Relaxation Techniques
Exercises for quick and long-term relaxation from the student-run Peer Health center at Williams College.
http://www.wso.williams.edu/orgs/peerh/stress/relax.html
	Relaxation and Meditation Techniques
Links to articles and resources from About.com.
http://www.stress.about.com/od/relaxation
Stress Management Resources from Mind Tools
Although this site's resources focus on how to manage workplace stress, many of the strategies are applicable to public speaking anxiety.
http://www.mindtools.com/smpage.html

Chapter 1: The Evolving Art of Public Speaking

This chapter summary is written by the authors of the authors of the text, "Public Speaking, the Evolving Art (ISBN-13:978-0-534-636727-9). It is a summary and should not take the place of reading the textbook or using the other resources provided on Angel by the publisher, course instructor or school.


Chapter Summary



As an evolving art, public speaking has changed from the classical era to today's information age in six key areas: who may speak, what makes a speaker credible, where speakers find information, what ethical challenges speakers face, how speakers deliver their speeches, and the audience's expectations. Tracing public speaking across the centuries illustrates how public speaking has evolved from a time when only well-educated men could speak, and only to a live audience, to an era in which nearly all members of society have the opportunity to speak and can choose among multiple delivery options.



In the public speaking class you're taking now, you'll acquire many transferable skills. Learning how to successfully present a speech increases self-confidence, improves listening skills, teaches audience adaptation and credibility strategies, expands your ability to locate and evaluate information, and provides techniques for better organizing and presenting your ideas.



Your public speaking class won't be the first time you give a speech--nor will it be the last. Many instructors across a wide variety of disciplines require student participation in discussions, debates, and presentations. Oral communication skills are essential to doing well in the workplace. Engaging in public talk at the community level keeps you informed and more connected with others. Speaking at social events contributes to important societal and cultural rituals.



Although new communication technologies have transformed how people communicate, four core ideas provide the foundation for public speaking in any age. First, public speaking requires audience-centered communication in which speakers focus on listeners' needs, knowledge, and interests. Second, public speakers must choose excellent supporting materials that fit the audience, topic, and occasion. Third, public speaking incorporates five arts, or divisions: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. These categories provide guidance in learning about public speaking and developing a speech. Fourth, public speaking encourages narrative thinking, allowing communicators to use their imaginations, recognize patterns, structure past events, and identify their relationships with each other and with the world.



Models of human communication have evolved from the transmission model that views communication as one-way, to more sophisticated models that incorporate today's complex communication environment. Public speaking has eight elements: speaker, message, channel, audience, noise, feedback, context, and environment. The speaker is the person who has the primary responsibility for presenting information. The speaker's message includes both verbal and nonverbal communication. Public speaking typically involves multiple channels of communication, such as integrating presentation media while speaking in person. The intended recipients of the speaker's message are the audience. Noise can interfere with the audience's ability to understand the message. The audience provides feedback in the form of nonverbal responses, questions and comments, and other communication with the speaker. The context for public speaking includes the physical setting and the occasion.



Key issues for today's public speaker center on ethics, cultural awareness, and using presentation software. Increased access to information puts greater ethical responsibilities on speakers to carefully research their speeches and scrupulously document their sources. Speakers must remain especially vigilant against plagiarism. Speaking today also requires applying critical thinking skills to reflect on and evaluate information. In addition, because they have so many opportunities to learn about others' perspectives, speakers must speak with cultural sensitivity. Finally, although presentation software provides an important mechanism for developing visually rich presentations, poor use of digital slides detracts from the speaker's message.



The speechmaking process involves six basic stages. First, determine your speech's topic and purpose. Second, analyze your audience so you can adapt your speech to them. Third, thoroughly research your topic. Fourth, organize your ideas in a way that fits your topic, purpose, and audience. Fifth, rehearse your speech aloud, preferably in front of an audience. Sixth, manage your voice and body, presentation media, audience, and time when you present your speech.



Even in today's information- and technology-driven age, excellent public speaking skills remain central to excelling personally and professionally, and for participating in a democratic society. Your public speaking class provides an important opportunity to learn the fundamentals of speaking in public. So get ready to speak up and make your voice heard.

American Rhetoric: Online Speech Bank
The site includes an index of over 5,000 speeches you can browse by speaker or category.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com
Digital Divide.org
Is the digital divide shrinking? DigitalDivide.org provides nine truths and seven misconceptions about the digital divide.
http://www.digitaldivide.org
Pew Internet & American Life Project
Find out the latest trends on how Americans use the internet and other new media.
http://www.pewinternet.org
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Learn more about the individuals who shaped the foundations of public speaking, such as Aristotle and Cicero.
http://www.plato.stanford.edu
The History Place: Great Speeches Collection
A compilation of written texts of speeches from the 1200s to today that allows you to consider how speechmaking has changed over time.
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/previous.htm