CHAPTER SIX
CONSIDERING THE ETHICS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
True-False
T F 1. Interest in ethical codes is relatively recent in human history.
T F 2. According to the text, American society places strong emphasis on honesty at all
levels.
T F 3. According to the author, audiences tend to make judgments about a speaker’s
reliability by measuring the speaker’s actions against words.
T F 4. Hidden agendas are destructive forces which act as powerful negative motivators
in most people.
T F 5. A speaker who avoids mentioning a source for quoted material is using an
effective shortcut which can help to reduce the time of a speech.
T F 6. Evaluating your motives for speaking involves making sure that your stated
objectives and internal goals are in harmony.
T F 7. Aristotle referred to character, which he called “ethos.”
T F 8. A speech that asks the audience to violate a law is still an ethical speech.
T F 9. Exhibiting concern for the audience and advocating choices which benefit society
are good indicators of a speaker’s policies.
T F 10. Because of ethical dilemmas, it is sometimes necessary for speakers to advocate
prejudice, stereotypes, law breaking or violence to promote solutions to society’s
problems.
T F 11. Aristotle identified what are called elements of virtue.
T F 12. When presenting information in a speech, it is sometimes acceptable practice to
withhold a portion of an example which does not support your viewpoint or
conclusion.
T F 13. According to the test, it is easy to assess the motivation of a speaker.
Multiple Choice
T F 14. A good indicator of a speaker’s ethical standards
a. is the phraseology of the speaker.
b. is the audiovisual aids used by the speaker.
c. are the policies and actions recommended by the speaker.
d. are none of the above.
T F 15. Plagiarism involves
a. withholding some information for your own purposes.
b. not giving credit to a quoted passage.
c. copying another work word for word.
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
T F 16. The topic of Thomas Stewart’s speech to the National Collegiate Athletic
Association Leadership Conference was
a. to describe the history of ethics in America.
b. to practice ethical and responsible behavior in daily life
c. to inform listeners about the life of Winston Churchill
d. to describe his life as a Navy pilot in the Persian Gulf War
17. Listeners can sometimes uncover a speaker’s hidden agenda by
a. listening to the speaker’s stated objective.
b. evaluating a speaker’s reasons for making the speech.
c. reading between the lines.
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above.
18. Aristotle referred to ethos as
a. less significant in persuasion.
b. similar to speech apprehension.
c. the most potent means of persuasion.
d. the logical aspect of a speech.
19. Which of the following would be included in Aristotle’s elements of virtue?
a. Justice
b. Temperance
c. Prudence
d. Gentleness
e. All of the above
Fill In the Blank
Essay Questions
24. Develop a code of ethics for you as you prepare presentations in your public speaking course.
25. Choose a prominent speaker in government, business, or in an institution. Describe how you
would evaluate the ethics of this well-known leader.
26. In 1976, Governor Jimmy Carter ran for president using the slogan, “I will never tell a lie.”
Discuss the positive and negative implications on American citizens of such a statement.
27. Discuss the difference between plagiarism and the ethical use of quotations. Use specific
examples to support your ideas.
28. Discuss the ethical implications of the following behaviors:
a. A convicted felon who signs a lucrative movie contract to tell his life story and
the details of his crime;
b. A former governmental official who writes a best-selling autobiography about
his sexual affairs during his term in public office;
c. A former drug dealer who earns money on the lecture circuit speaking to
groups about the dangers of drugs;
d. A former U.S. Senator who uses her reputation and connections in government
to earn millions in a lobbying organization.
e. Governmental practices that allow authorities to “detain” individuals without
arrest or specific charges but who may be connected to terrorist activities.
29. Some speakers are highly ethical and ensure that they give credit where credit is due when
presenting facts and figures they researched from other sources. Other speakers seem to have no
problem lying or misleading the public in unethical ways. Explain and discuss the following
statement:
“What is true on one side of the mountain is false on the other side.”
Online Chapter Quiz Questions
Chapter 6
Considering the Ethics of Public Speaking
True False
1. Aristotle referred to ethics as “pathos.”
2. A speaker does not need to make an effort to be honest because the audience will know the
facts from other information provided.
3. A code of ethics operate as a standard of behavior and practice.
4. A hidden agenda is often easy for an audience to detect in a speaker.
5. Altering a few words of the original work allows the speaker to not be engaging in plagiarism.
Multiple Choice
6. The point of the sample speech by Thomas V. Stewart was to
a. present an informative speech to NCAA athletes, officials, and students.
b. provide a biography of baseball legend Pete Rose.
c. urge listeners to practice ethical and responsible behavior in their daily lives.
d. none of the above.
7. Aristotle referred to character as
a. the most potent means of persuasion.
b. the least important means of persuasion.
c. second only to emotion in persuasion.
d. powerful, but not influential.
8. According to the text, a hidden agenda
a. is always a negative factor in persuasion.
b. can be a positive motivator.
c. is not a factor in some people.
d. none of the above.
9. Elements of virtue refer to
a. justice, courage and temperance.
b. ethos.
c. Aristotle’s reference to character
d. all of the above.
e. none of the above
10. According to the text, measuring actions against words refers to
a. honesty and the speaker
b. the speaker’s reliability
c. the speaker’s motivations
d. the speaker’s policies.
Fill in the Blank
11. An unstated objective that is difficult to assess within a speaker is called a
________________.
12. The practice where a speaker does not change the original wording of a source but states it
word-for-word without quoting is known as _____________________.
13. Standards and guides of behavior and practice are called ___________________.
14. Identify 2 areas that you should examine when evaluating the ethics of a speaker.
___________________ and _____________________.
15. According to the Conference Board, more than 75% of the companies surveyed had
a/an__________________ of ______________________.
Answers
