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The Power of a Strong Work Ethic: Why It Matters and How You Can Improve It

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A great work ethic can take you far in life. This quality is celebrated in everything from academia to the work world. Work ethic is not only in the professional world but is also integral to our wellbeing. If you understand how it really functions, you'll be better equipped to take the simple steps needed to improve your own work ethic. To that end, we've compiled a guide to all things work ethic: what it means, why it matters, and what you can do to boost yours.

What Is a Strong  Work Ethic ?

Ask 10 different people what it means to have a strong work ethic, and you'll almost certainly receive 10 different answers. In general, however, most work ethic definitions contain the following key components:

• Planning. People with a strong work ethic know how to work smart, not just hard. Often, this means creating detailed outlines for when and how they'll complete key tasks. Goals must be quantifiable and achievable—and they must be revisited and updated regularly.
• Habits. Whether they're good or bad, habits dominate your life. If you have a strong work ethic, you'll make the effort to cultivate excellent habits instead of resting easy with the poor ones that get you nowhere. Not only do these habits keep you on track, but they can also help you achieve your loftiest goals with less effort.
• Passion. While a sense of duty can take you far, it'll only do so much when you lack passion for your work or schooling. It certainly won't keep you on track on its own, but it can be an amazing supplement to the qualities highlighted above. Red-hot passion keeps you yearning for greatness—and motivates you to take action when obstacles stand in the way.
• Grit. When the going gets tough, how do you respond? If you rely exclusively on natural talent, you won't get far. Respected psychologist and science writer Angela Duckworth explains in Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance that this quality has little to do with luck, but rather, is about "passion and perseverance for long-term goals."

Benefits of Having a Strong  Work Ethic

The benefits of a strong work ethic extend to every aspect of your life, including not only your academic and professional achievements, but also your relationships, physical health, and emotional wellbeing. Noteworthy advantages include:

Better Academic and Job Performance

From college to the workplace, a strong work ethic will set you up for success through every stage in your professional trajectory. Your work ethic is what gets you to hit the books when procrastination calls—and it's what keeps you on track at the office when social media or email compel you to procrastinate. Through hard work, you'll gain invaluable knowledge and abilities (including both technical and soft skills) that boost your performance in many aspects of life.

Taking Pride in Your Work

When you coast through life, accomplishments may be few and far between. Even when they do arrive, it's tough to take pride in something you didn't achieve through your hard work.

The smallest achievements feel extra satisfying when you have a strong work ethic. Instead of reflecting on hollow victories, you can pat yourself on the back for both the win and the work it took to get there.

Developing a Wonderful Reputation

Ask employers if they prefer raw talent or a strong work ethic, and the vast majority will be more enthusiastic about the latter. It doesn't take long to identify which professionals possess this quality. If this is evident in your day-to-day habits, you can expect to gain a strong reputation, and, ultimately, a strong professional network.

Improving Work-Life Balance

Having a strong work ethic does not mean that you have to run yourself ragged. In fact, the opposite is true: When you develop self-discipline and time management skills, you'll make better use of every minute on the job.

In turn, you can dedicate more energy to pursuits outside of the workplace. Instead of scrambling to achieve inferior results after procrastinating, you'll complete tasks on time—and with less stress.

How to Develop or Improve Your  Work Ethic

Everybody possesses unique gifts and weaknesses, so it's perfectly normal for some people to have an easier time developing a solid work ethic than others. Certain traits—such as being organized or detail-oriented—become evident early on, even when the people who hold these qualities have never made an active effort to develop them.

With that being said, current or previous struggles with work ethic don’t prevent you from acquiring it. Work ethic is a lot like a muscle—with regular practice, it will become stronger over time. Follow these simple steps to give your work ethic a boost:

Find Your Why

Which aspects of your life do you expect will improve once you've achieved a better work ethic? Do you find these areas personally compelling? If not, you may need to find a new “ why” that motivates you to keep working hard. This will vary significantly from one person to the next but will often involve intrinsic goals, such as helping vulnerable community members or spurring innovation.

Avoid Perfectionism

It may seem counterintuitive, but perfection often stands in the way of professionalism. It's frequently used as an excuse for procrastination; if you can't do something perfectly, why bother at all? If you have a strong work ethic, however, you'll focus on putting in the work rather than worrying exclusively about the results.

Build a Community

Developing a better work ethic doesn’t have to be a solo venture. You need strong support from all types of people, including not only partners and family members, but also friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. The more people you share your mission with, the more often you'll receive the words of encouragement  you need when things get tough.

Strong  Work Ethic  Examples

By now, you should understand why work ethic is so important and what it takes to give it a boost. To illustrate the value of this prized trait and the role it plays in the real world, we've highlighted a few situations that exemplify this concept:

• Internships and externships. Hands-on work experiences provide wonderful opportunities to get noticed by potential employers. An intern or extern with a great work ethic is sure to attract attention. This could be as simple as arriving early to each shift or taking the effort to apply academic findings to the real-world work environment.
• Engaging with classes. If you have a strong work ethic, simply showing up for class won't be good enough. Instead, you'll need to fully engage with the material by volunteering to answer questions, meeting with instructors during office hours, or staying after class to ask questions.
• Adopting healthy habits. A solid work ethic could push you to shop for produce when a visit to the local fast-food drive-through seems more appealing. It will also help you move your body each day through moderate exercise—resulting in major improvements in physical health, as well as a much-needed daily dose of endorphins.

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At The College of Health Care Professions, we understand that there's more to the college experience than academic coursework alone. We want students to gain not only technical skills but also soft skills like a strong work ethic. We're here to support you on your journey. Contact us today to learn more .

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How to Speak Up About Ethical Issues at Work

by Amy Gallo

Sometimes you sense that something isn’t right at work. You suspect that your finance colleague might be fudging numbers, your boss isn’t telling his manager the truth about an important project, or your co-worker is skipping out of the office early but leaving her computer on so it looks like she’s just down the hall. How do you know when it’s worth speaking up or not? Can you you protect yourself from potential consequences of calling out bad behavior? And when you do decide to say something, what do you say and to whom?

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The Importance of Workplace Ethics

Small breaches can create bigger problems if left unchecked.

Workplace ethics — the ethical guidelines that define appropriate workplace behavior — are an important aspect of an organizational culture . Companies that live up to their ethical standards may notice that employees trust each other to do the right thing, which can boost performance and loyalty. Job applicants will want to  join  the company, and customers will be  proud to say they do business with them.

What Are Workplace Ethics?

Workplace ethics are the principles that an organization aims to live up to. By agreeing to treat others with respect and act with integrity, companies can build trust with employees, customers and the general public.

Creating an ethical culture requires a concerted effort by leaders, but the onus is on everyone in the organization to maintain an ethical culture by speaking up against unethical practices. After all, it only takes a small crack in a company’s ethical foundation to compromise everything it has worked so hard to build.

Workplace ethics are the ethical standards that an organization strives to live by. Often defined by a code of ethics or a code of conduct, a company’s workplace ethics usually involve acting with integrity, respecting others and reporting unethical behavior when they see it. 

Ethics extend beyond what is required by law. While certain actions like theft or discrimination are clearly illegal, ethics can help define ethical gray areas that might be at odds with the company’s values and jeopardize the company’s reputation.

Workplace ethics are strongly influenced by a company’s leaders , who must not only put ethical standards in place, but also act ethically in the course of their day-to-day work. When employees see that a company’s ethics are taken seriously and modeled by leadership, they are much more likely to hold themselves to those standards.

Unfortunately, a gap often exists between a company’s stated workplace ethics and its actual workplace ethics. A survey by the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) found that nearly two-thirds of employees have observed at least one unethical or illegal act in the past year, with only 72 percent of those employees reporting the misconduct. A Gallup study reported more troubling results, with only 40 percent of employees speaking up.

Related Reading What Is Ethical Leadership?

Why Are Ethics in the Workplace Important?

Workplace ethics are important to creating a culture built on trust, which contributes to employee satisfaction, increased collaboration and a stronger brand reputation. Additionally, an organization that acts ethically — and agrees on a shared set of values — is safeguarded from the problems that can result from unethical behavior.

“Leaving things to chance, assuming people will have good intentions, puts a culture at risk of ethical lapse,” Ron Carucci, an author and managing partner at leadership consulting firm Navalant , told Built In.

When leaders don’t act ethically, employees may lose faith in the organization’s ethical integrity and not report wrongdoing. In this way, unethical behavior can beget more unethical behavior and eventually permeate the organization’s culture . 

“Those companies ultimately trip up over some kind of rule or law and it threatens the viability of the business,” Pat Harned, CEO at Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) , told Built In.

Benefits of Having Strong Workplace Ethics

1. it’s easier to recruit and retain ethical employees.

Employees who see that their organization’s ethical values are being followed often feel a sense of pride and commitment to the organization. When employees see unethical behavior, however, they won’t respect or trust the organization. Those organizations are also more likely to have employees who are treated unfairly, Harned said.

“Not only are you going to have a problem attracting great talent,” Harned added, “but you won’t be able to retain them because people won’t stay in a workplace that is toxic or has questionable practices.”

2. It Contributes to Trust and Collaboration

Employees have a higher degree of trust in leaders they believe are ethical, which in turn strengthens their ability to lead and influence their workforce, said Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. Employees typically mirror that behavior, which creates a culture where ethical standards are upheld and toxic behavior is called out. A healthy workplace culture rooted in trust and ethical standards can collaborate and operate more efficiently knowing everyone is aligned on values and pulling in the same direction.

Additionally, employees who feel like they are heard are more likely to speak up and share other ideas that would make the company more efficient, more profitable or create a better experience for customers, said Stephen Paskoff, president and CEO at Employment Learning Innovations .

3. It Attracts Loyal Customers

Customers want to support businesses that are transparent, behave ethically and live by their corporate values . When a company gains a reputation as an ethical company, they often attract new customers and referrals. An ethical company will also treat its customers fairly, which leads customers to trust that company and return to them for their next purchase.

4. It Helps You Avoid Legal Trouble

One of the most practical benefits of workplace ethics is legal compliance. A code of ethics will typically offer guidance about preventing conflicts of interest, bribery and other illegal practices. It also sets clear standards against discrimination, harassment and other behaviors that not only create a hostile workplace but could potentially land your company in legal trouble. By regularly communicating these expectations, companies can ensure that employees are informed about the laws that exist and what they need to adhere to these laws.

Related Reading Toxic Work Culture: 18 Examples and How to Improve It

Examples of Ethical Workplace Behaviors

1. accountability.

Accountability means living up to one’s promises and owning up to any mistakes instead of deflecting responsibility. In an ethical workplace, people will not only hold themselves accountable, but they will also hold others accountable by calling out inappropriate behavior, confronting poor performance or questioning unethical decisions.

2. Transparency

An ethical leader will be transparent in how they make decisions. They might cite company values or data when explaining their thought process, Skeet said, and they will pause to consider a decision’s downstream effects and consult with those affected by the decision.

3. Speaking Up

Reporting unethical behavior is crucial to developing an ethical workplace. If an employee doesn’t feel comfortable confronting a colleague or leader about their unethical behavior, they should report that unethical behavior to a manager, the company’s ethics hotline or one of the other channels outlined in the company’s code of ethics policy.

Examples of Unethical Workplace Behaviors

1. dishonesty or deceit.

Most of us are taught at a young age not to lie, but sometimes the pressures of the working world can push good people toward dishonest or deceitful behavior. A sales representative struggling to meet their monthly quota, for example, might over-promise the benefits of a product to get a customer to sign a sales contract.

2. Misuse of Company Time

Companies may have varying ideas about what is considered an appropriate use of time. For instance,  cyberloafing , the habit of browsing websites or social media during work hours, might be considered inappropriate in some occupations, but it might also provide useful information or inspiration in others. That said, there are some clear inappropriate uses of time, like working on a side hustle or freelance business when you have work that needs to be done for your primary employer.

Giving gifts or treating a client to a meal is not illegal for most private sector employees, but it can muddy the ethical waters nonetheless. If you’re in the market for a payroll software, for example, it would be unethical to accept an expensive gift from a prospective vendor because they would then expect you to purchase their software — even if it might not be the best option for your company. Companies can prevent this by defining appropriate gifts and entertainment standards in their code of ethics.

Related Reading Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: What It Is, Why It’s Important

Signs of Ethical Danger to Watch For

Pressure to compromise standards.

Employees can be pressured to cheat or compromise their standards when they are up against unrealistic performance targets or systems that reward cutting corners. ECI’s Global Business Ethics Survey found 29 percent of employees feel this pressure. Of those employees, 84 percent said they also observed misconduct in their workplace.

Fear of Speaking Out

If a company isn’t receiving reports of wrongdoing, leaders might think everything is running smoothly. In actuality, not receiving reports is a red flag. Employees could be witnessing misconduct but not reporting it. They could be afraid of retaliation, which is unfortunately common in some workplaces. About 46 percent of employees surveyed in ECI’s Global Business Ethics Survey said they experienced retribution for reporting misconduct.

Ethics Aren’t Taken Seriously

The more serious the ethical breach is, the less likely it is that the person didn’t realize they were violating the code of ethics, Paskoff said. The real issue is they chose not to follow the ethical standards in the code. This can happen in organizations where cutting corners is necessary to meet goals, creating a gap between an organization’s purported values and its  actual operations

“There’s always a slippery slope as the line slowly moves,” Carucci said. “Over time, as cultures fray, as performance pressures become more unrealistic, people decide they have no other choice but to cheat.”

Related Reading Conflict Resolution in the Workplace: 9 Tips

How to Address Unethical Behavior

Take reports seriously.

If an employee steps forward to report unethical behavior, they should have assurances that company leaders will thoroughly investigate the incident. If employees sense that reports aren’t taken seriously, they may grow jaded and feel like the company is hypocritical for not living up to its values. The company’s culture will take a hit, and employees will stop reporting unethical behavior, which will only lead to more ethics violations in the future.

Enforce Policies Fairly

A company’s code of ethics or code of conduct should spell out the process for investigating and disciplining employees who violate company protocols. Companies should ensure that employees are treated equally in this process to avoid any perceptions of favoritism. If employees sense that employees are disciplined more than senior leaders, they may lose trust in the company and stop speaking up about ethical violations.

Take Corrective Measures

Disciplining bad behavior is an important practice, but it will take more than that to create an ethical culture. If the employee is returning to work, they (and possibly their team) should receive training about ethical practices. This could be especially helpful if there is an ethical standard that has been routinely ignored on that team. If the incident exposed a systemic process that led to a breach of ethics, leaders should rethink that practice and design a new workflow that promotes more ethical behavior.

Foster an Ethical Culture

To close the gap between what’s in the code of ethics and what’s practiced in the workplace, companies need to nurture an ethical culture.

“Leaders have a responsibility to pay attention to the culture of the organization, because culture really drives conduct,” Harned said. “If you have a culture that tells employees to get it done and it doesn’t matter how you do it, you’re reinforcing the wrong thing.” 

To create that culture, leaders need to not only practice what they preach but also talk about the values and ethics of the organization.

“The C-suite and other leaders have got to talk about these things and integrate them regularly into conversations,” Paskoff said.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are workplace ethics.

Workplace ethics are the ethical standards that an organization agrees to live by, such as treating people with respect, being honest and holding others accountable for unethical behavior.

Why are workplace ethics important?

Workplace ethics are important to creating a culture in which employees trust each other to do the right thing, which leads to a happier work environment, more collaborative relationships, customer loyalty and the ability to recruit and retain ethical employees.

What are some ethical issues in the workplace?

Workplaces could face a number of ethical issues, such as discrimination, harassment, unfair treatment, bribery and deceitful or dishonest behavior.

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How to Create a Culture of Ethics & Accountability in the Workplace

• 22 Aug 2023

Ethics and accountability play significant roles in company culture. From employee satisfaction and productivity to maintaining a favorable reputation with customers and business partners, prioritizing ethical decision-making and accountability has numerous benefits.

An ethical company culture results from hard work and intentional actions. Before diving into how to foster that kind of environment, here’s an overview of why ethics and accountability are important in the workplace.

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The Importance of Ethics and Accountability at Work

Ethics and accountability are crucial to a productive work environment. They help shape your organization's culture, promote trust, ensure responsible behavior, and contribute to its success.

“Being a leader involves responsibility for others,” says Harvard Business School Professor Nien-hê Hsieh in the online course Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “As a leader, you’ll want to create a culture not just of legal and regulatory compliance but more fundamentally grounded in reliability, ethics, and goodwill.”

When it comes to employees, you must create a culture that both encourages them to work hard and saves the company from lawsuits. Wrongful termination claims can cost your organization upwards of $100,000 in legal expenses , but you can help avoid them with a track record of ethical decision-making .

How to Create a Culture of Accountability

Despite its growing importance, creating a culture of accountability can be challenging. This is largely because organizational change can suffer from poor employee buy-in, an unclear vision, or inadequate understanding among managers. According to a recent Partners In Leadership study on workplace accountability, however, 91 percent of respondents included accountability at the top of their company’s leadership development needs.

So, how can you build a culture of accountability? Here are five ways to get started.

1. Lead by Example

Establishing a culture of ethics and accountability starts with setting an example as an organizational leader . By proactively creating a space where you encourage ethical decision-making and accountability, your team will be more likely to do the same.

Integrity and accountability are also vital to leading effectively .

“Shaping and sustaining an organization’s culture is a critical dimension of a leader’s responsibilities toward their employees,” Hsieh says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “In addition, the right culture—one in which employees feel they’re treated fairly and with respect—can benefit the organization from an economic perspective.”

Leading by example also promotes trust within your organization, which can be critical to establishing accountability among your team. Although 40 percent of employees report unethical behavior in the workplace, they’re 24 percent more likely to report it if they trust leadership.

To increase trust, promote accountability, and encourage ethical decisions, it’s prudent to practice what you preach.

Related: How Does Leadership Influence Organizational Culture?

2. Provide Meaningful Feedback

Giving feedback is an effective way to promote accountability within your team. Research by Gallup shows that employees who receive regular, meaningful feedback are four times more likely to be engaged.

“Within a company, one way of building accountability is to incorporate key performance indicators, or KPIs, into evaluations of managers and other employees,” Hsieh says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “It would then be important to regularly review how well employees are meeting those KPIs and to reaffirm that the metrics chosen are indeed useful and relevant ones.”

When providing feedback, be direct but empathetic. Let your team know you come from a place of caring and consideration, with the goal of helping them grow and improve professionally.

Remember that asking for and receiving meaningful feedback is essential to creating a culture of accountability. Request input on how you’re doing as a leader, and show initiative to improve. This can encourage your team members to continuously hold you—and each other—accountable.

3. Combat Workplace Bias

Building a culture of ethics and accountability requires that everyone proactively combats workplace bias and stereotypes .

Workplace bias refers to unconscious inclinations based on personal experience, cultural background, or social conditioning. Bias can affect your decisions and actions and be explicit (you’re aware of it) or implicit (you’re unaware of it).

Stereotypes—overgeneralized perceptions and beliefs about groups of people—can also lead to unfair decisions and harmful actions. They can be based on:

• Sexual orientation
• Religious affiliation

According to Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability , promoting diversity is one of the best ways to overcome workplace bias and stereotypes.

“It’s integral to create a sense of belonging within an organization,” Hsieh says in the course. “Having diverse people in upper management roles ensures that minority employees have role models they can relate to. But it can also be helpful to foster meaningful interactions among people in different demographic groups; for example, through mentorships or teamwork in small groups.”

Other strategies include hosting workshops to increase cultural awareness, encouraging interactions between diverse groups, and holding colleagues accountable when bias or stereotypes affect workplace dynamics.

4. Give Employees a Voice

So that you and other leaders receive meaningful feedback and stay accountable, it’s vital to give employees a platform to share their thoughts. However, doing so can be unnerving.

“Finding ways to promote employee voice is not always an easy or comfortable task,” Hsieh says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “It involves both formal and informal channels of engagement. It involves real listening. And it may even feel threatening to managers and require a sense of vulnerability.”

Yet, employees need to feel heard—beyond defending their basic rights—to boost their morale.

“Fairness may require that companies establish formal channels for employees to speak out not only about rights violations but also about wants, needs, concerns, and suggestions for improvement,” Hsieh says in the course.

Despite the potential discomfort, giving employees a platform can have numerous benefits. For example, you can increase their satisfaction and reduce costly turnover by addressing their concerns. It can also lead to more innovation and creative problem-solving .

5. Develop an Authentic Leadership Style

Authentic leadership is defined by principle-driven decisions. It requires putting your beliefs ahead of your company’s success and prioritizing employee satisfaction and relationships.

The benefits of having an authentic leadership style include:

• Enhanced workplace relationships
• Increased productivity
• Improved working environments

To develop an authentic leadership style, reflect on your values, principles, and mission. What’s important to you above all else? What do you believe in? Self-awareness is one of the first steps to becoming an authentic leader.

You also need to practice authentic leadership in your daily life. For instance, by making decisions that prioritize relationships with your team and colleagues. Continuously committing to developing your leadership style through accountability and implementing feedback can ensure you garner long-term results in creating an ethical work environment.

Take Accountability

Taking accountability can be difficult—especially in the workplace. However, it’s critical to fostering an ethical, productive work environment and protecting your organization from negative financial or legal actions.

If you struggle to navigate business ethics , consider sharpening your leadership skills . One way to do so is by taking an online course, such as Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . Through engaging in an interactive learning experience featuring real-world business examples, you can develop a framework for understanding and delivering on your responsibilities to customers, employees, investors, and society.

Ready to improve your workplace accountability? Enroll in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability —one of our online leadership and management courses—and download our free e-book on how to become a more effective leader.

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How To Develop And Demonstrate Good Work Ethics

Cropped shot of two businesspeople shaking hands during a meeting in the boardroom

"Work ethic," a term touted the most in recent years by employers complaining of its lack particularly in the GenZ generation, is one of the most important skills one can have to enable career growth, a 2023 study conducted by Resume Builder reveals.

Of the 1,000 survey respondents which included managers and business leaders, nearly three quarters of this group agreed that working with GenZ is perhaps the most challenging generation of all, due to lack of work ethics. The low work ethics cited included being easily distracted and offended, lack of motivation, and dishonesty. Deficiency in technological skills (albeit surprisingly) topped the list, with 39% agreeing this was a major concern for the younger workforce.

With 65% of the surveyed managers and leaders stating that they would be most likely to fire a GenZ employee more than any other generational group for these very reasons, it certainly poses a concern for younger workers seeking to carve a solid career path and establish themselves in the corporate world.

What exactly is the meaning of work ethic?

Work ethic is loosely defined as a set of acceptable standards and behaviors in the workplace. Beyond this, it consists of a collection of character qualities that sets an individual out from the rest, and directly links their hard, diligent work with reward, recognition, and a strong moral reputation that paves the way for future career success.

Shot of two work colleagues using a digital tablet during a business meeting at work

What qualities do I need to have good work ethic?

For the 1,000 managers and business leaders interviewed by Resume Builder, their main concerns (apart from technical aptitude) included:

• Being easily distracted
• Taking offence easily
• Lack of motivation

Stay focused

In a digitally charged culture of always being online, distractions occur almost all the time in the forms of social media, notifications, pop-ups, marketing emails, and instant messaging. Maintaining solid focus on the task at hand ensures you bring quality and due diligence to your work, drastically improving your performance, enabling you to see gaps for improvement, and fast-tracking your achievement of KPIs and targets.

If, like many of us, you struggle to maintain concentration, consider blocking out "focus time" into your working schedule. This can be 30 minutes, an hour, or more, in which you attend to tasks that require the most attention and take more time, mental energy, and concentration. Pick a slot of the day when your brain is at its sharpest and mute all notifications for that period while you do "deep" work.

Through regularly training your mind and re-setting your habits, you will become accustomed to staying focused for longer periods of time so your work can be performed at optimal level and you can be more productive in your work time.

Receive constructive feedback

While it can sometimes be tempting to justify yourself by blaming the other person or external circumstances for poor behavior, there is often much wisdom to be obtained through the advice and occasional reprimands from peers, colleagues who have been in the business for years, and senior management.

While there is no excuse for harsh criticism or demeaning and disrespectful behavior, seek to recognize and receive when feedback is given for your benefit, no matter how unpleasant it may be to hear.

From someone looking objectively at your performance, especially if they have more industry experience, there could be some aspect of truth to their words. Not only you should listen to and act on constructive criticism, but take it a step further and actively seek it out. Ask your manager both in performance reviews and outside of reviews, what areas they see you doing well in, and what they think you could improve on moving forwards.

Cultivate the art of self-motivation

Being self-motivated is an essential skill for today's hybrid/remote workforce, where one is not always under the immediate eye of their team or supervisor. Employers place a great deal of trust when they hire a candidate, and the first 90 days at a job are especially critical to that trust being strengthened or their confidence in you being weakened.

Keep yourself accountable and set high standards for your own performance at work. For example, you can create SMART goals for a project or report deadline that you are working on, and set reminders on your work calendar, or Post-It notes near your desk.

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Best covid-19 travel insurance plans, maintain honesty and integrity.

It should be a no-brainer, but honesty and integrity are vital qualities that when violated, often slip under the radar and are brought to light some time later with serious consequences for the individual and business concerned. Once trust is abused, it takes an uphill effort to bring it back and can have serious implications that mar your career prospects.

Seek to maintain a reputation for being truthful at all costs, avoiding practices such as lying on your resume, faking qualifications, cheating mandatory training, or otherwise relaying deliberately false or misleading information.

Shot of a group of businesspeople clapping during a conference

Ultimately, good work ethics extend much further than the guidance in your employee handbook. A single instance of disregarding these ethics can prove fatal for your reputation and career advancement, given the widespread use of platforms such as LinkedIn and reverse Google searches. Therefore, work ethics should be a way of life, a personal determination to adhere by one's own code of conduct whatever the circumstances or position.

The value of a strong work ethic

By Michael T. Schueler, Chairman and CEO, Schueler Group

Actions and opportunities in one’s early years can have positive or negative effects in one’s later years. My work ethic was handed down to me by my parents, who encouraged both my brother and me to work hard and make things happen. In my early 20s, I had not yet heard of the word entrepreneur. I realize now, that out of the fifteen jobs I held at an oil company earlier in my career, ten of them were newly created positions. Even further back, at the age of 7 or 8, I sold pumpkins out of a red wagon in the neighborhood, and at the age of 13, my first “real” job was at a picnic grove where I took care of ponies.

So, I continued working for the oil company for 17 years, while also getting my M.B.A from the University of Chicago. In 1974, I moved to Ohio and joined a farm/land sales developer named George Henkle, who owned a business in Warren County. George was a mentor to me, and by 1976 I became president of the company, ultimately expanding the business to include four successful companies: Henkle Schueler & Associates (commercial real estate), Bunnell Hill Development, Bunnell Hill Construction, and Henkle Schueler Property Management.

I now own four convenience stores/gas stations (“Big Mike’s”), in the Cincinnati/Dayton area. I get to manage the business, along with lending my support to the many employees who work in our stores.

During my granddaughter’s 2021 summer break from West Virginia University, my wife and I played host and mentor to her, as she worked at her first “real” job in the hospitality business. While we were determined to provide our granddaughter with some work and life guidance, and hopefully set her on a positive track, we also wanted to provide a solid base from which to begin her career. We had no idea whether she had a work ethic or whether she would be able to hold onto any hard-earned cash at the end of the summer. It would be an interesting experience for all of us.

Watching her with her fresh eyes and eagerness to gain work experience, I was reminded of myself at her age. While in my junior year at Northwestern University, I was in dire need of tuition funds, and began working at a service station for the American Oil Company. I was the only person to attend classes in a work uniform. I stayed with the oil company while attending school. At one point in my oil company career, I was given one million dollars to get 20 service stations up and running in a little over a year in Dayton and the surrounding areas. And I did exactly that.

Hard work and dedication make us better at what we do: self-reliance, putting in the work, showing up on time, building personal relationships, and forging ahead and figuring it out as we go – reaps great rewards at any age and can help build successful careers. We all have a responsibility to ensure younger generations understand the value of a work ethic, by sharing our successes, as well as our failures, with them.

It has been rewarding to help our granddaughter get started along her path and to reminisce about my own long path to success. This past summer reminded me of how much joy there is in helping younger generations move and shake the world.

For more information, contact Michael T. Schueler at [email protected] or 513-932-6010.

Schueler Group is a Goering Center sponsor, and the Goering Center is sharing this content as part of its monthly newsletter, which features member and sponsor articles.

About the Goering Center for Family & Private Business

Established in 1989, the Goering Center serves more than 400 member companies, making it North America’s largest university-based educational non-profit center for family and private businesses. The Center’s mission is to nurture and educate family and private businesses to drive a vibrant economy. Affiliation with the  Carl H. Lindner College of Business  at the University of Cincinnati provides access to a vast resource of business programing and expertise. Goering Center members receive real-world insights that enlighten, strengthen and prolong family and private business success. For more information on the Center, participation and membership visit  goering.uc.edu .

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Work ethic in the workplace

Discover work ethic definition, examples of strong and bad work ethics. Why it is important in the workplace. Learn how to improve your work ethic.

Ivan Andreev

Demand Generation & Capture Strategist, Valamis

January 17, 2022 · updated July 10, 2024

15 minute read

In this article, you’ll learn what defines a strong work ethic, and how to develop it within your company.

You’ll also learn what affects the work ethic of various personnel, and how you can help them improve it.

What is work ethic?

Why is work ethic important, what are the benefits of having a strong work ethic in an organization, strong work ethic examples, bad work ethic examples, strong work ethic skills you should develop, bad work ethic skills you should avoid, how to develop a strong work ethic in an organization (tips), faq about work ethic.

Work ethic is a set of standards of behavior and beliefs regarding what is and isn’t acceptable to do at work.

Work ethic can be strong (good) or poor (bad), it depends on personal views of employees, their motivation, and overall company culture.

A strong work ethic is an attitude an employee applies to their work that indicates a high level of passion for any work they do.

A bad work ethic is an attitude that an employee demonstrates that shows a lack of ambition and professionalism in the workplace.

People with a strong work ethic often seem as though they have a competitive spirit, although their competitiveness is often within themselves to achieve their goals within their occupation.

Those individuals with a strong work ethic often present themselves as ‘ideal employees’ because their drive for success leads them to work to achieve one goal after another.

Work ethic can be nurtured, although it’s often a part of an individual’s character and overall outlook on life.

Work ethic may seem like a subjective topic, but for human resources departments, knowing what it is and how it works is important.

A strong work ethic within the company serves as a behavioral model for the right way of working. It supports and fosters a productive working culture.

Employees with a strong work ethic are highly driven and often far exceed their peers in terms of achieving company goals.

They lead by example and motivate others to work hard. Of course, it must be part of the work culture , and everybody should support it.

Otherwise, one employee with a strong work ethic in a collective of people with poor work ethic will eventually exhibit the same attitude or will leave the company.

Bad work ethic, put another way, can lead to demotivation, loss of effectiveness, sometimes even to high turnover rate and other damaging consequences.

So, it is vital for the HR department to track and adjust work ethic within the company, department, or even of the particular employee.

We won’t say that employees with a strong work ethic are better choices for promotion within the company, but they are the first candidates for this, because of their drive and commitment to their job.

Build a learning culture: a practical workbook for your organization

Upgrade your organization’s learning culture with clear, actionable strategies to address the challenges.

Employees are more productive and dedicated. They help each other, and so on. Cover this more.

1. A balanced, respectful workplace and culture

Employees with a strong work ethic present themselves as professionals in every sense of the word.

They respect their fellow employees, their higher-ups, and those that they come into contact with.

Not only does this present a polished image for your organization, it also creates an environment that other people are happy to work in.

2. Higher productivity

Employees with a strong ethic put their commitments to the company before other, frivolous activities.

While there’s no reason to work rather than attend to a family emergency, these employees won’t slack off on a project because they’d rather do something they’re not obligated to instead.

A high drive for work ethic means that they take enough gratification in their job to complete every task, and correctly prioritize their work/life balance.

People with a strong work ethic take pride in their jobs and see every task they do as important.

These are employees that rarely, if ever, arrive at the job late. Not only that, they complete all assigned projects in a timely manner and avoid holding up the workflow of the rest of the organization. This creates efficiency and a sense of expediency in the workplace.

3. A wider talent pool

The employees that show the highest work ethic are also those that continue their dedication as they advance in their careers. Better managers make for better employees underneath them.

When you scout employees with a strong work ethic from the beginning, you can keep your strongest assets within the company.

Work ethic examples

Next, we’ll go into a practical examination of work ethic. We’ll review some common examples of both strong and poor work ethic.

People with a strong work ethic are often referred to as true professionals. Next, we’ll look at some examples of a strong work ethic in the workplace.

First example:

Barney is the employee that always follows through on his commitments. If he agrees to take over another co-worker’s shift, he always shows up. If commits to a deadline, you can count on him to meet that deadline.

Everyone knows him as the guy they can rely on. He gets satisfaction in being the person that never shows up late, and always completes work of the caliber, no matter what the task is.

Second example:

Angela’s supervisor asked her to coordinate reports between patient in-services and insurance. Unfortunately, Angela isn’t very familiar with processing certain insurance claims.

Rather than giving up, Angela decides to expand her skillset. She networks with her co-workers in the insurance department and asks questions of her supervisor to ensure she completes her task to the best of her ability.

In the process, she expands her skills to make sure she meets her goals.

Third example:

Barbara is known for her meticulous work. She never misses a deadline, and still doesn’t sacrifice the quality of her work to do so.

While it may take more focus, and time for certain tasks, she always delivers high-quality, reliable work. Her supervisors know that they don’t need to double-check her work.

No matter what day, what time, or what the circumstances are Barbara never turns in work that would be considered sub-par.

Individuals with bad work ethic aren’t very hard to point out. However, clear examples can help you point out specific factors that are a problem. If these are corrected, the employee’s performance will also improve.

Jim’s supervisor asked him to review the financial reports from last quarter to look for purchases from one client. The supervisor gave him this task about a month ago and asked him to complete it within a few weeks.

Now, a month has passed, and Jim still hasn’t reviewed any of the reports. Rather than starting early, he’s left it to the last minute and turns in an incomplete report.

Jim is a standard example of poor prioritization and a weak work ethic.

Sheila is sometimes bothered by the tasks required of her. However, she never addresses this with her superiors. Instead, she complains to co-workers, friends, and anyone that will listen about her job.

Ultimately it displays a very poor image of the company and creates a more hostile working environment for her co-workers.

Being resentful and complaining, rather than seeking solutions, is another strong indicator of poor work ethic.

Jeff is an employee that isn’t bothered by work schedules. Every weekday he’s supposed to show up at 9 am.

While other employees show up on time or even early, Jeff is rarely, if ever at the office on time. He makes excuses about traffic or other problems but never bothers to get up earlier to correct the issues.

His constant tardiness shows a lack of respect for his job and fellow coworkers. His coworkers know him as unreliable and irresponsible as a result.

Repeated tardiness is another common sign that an employee has a bad work ethic.

Strong and poor work ethic skills and traits

Next, we’ll go into a practical examination of work ethic. We’ll review some common examples of both good and bad work ethic.

Hard workers don’t give up when a task is difficult. These individuals show their work ethic in their persistence.

Dedication means that an employee always sees their commitments through. They keep their deadlines and complete tasks to the fullest.

Workers that show discipline aren’t swayed by what they want to do. Instead, they continue doing what they should until it’s complete.

• Productivity

Individuals with a strong work ethic often have high productivity and keep themselves busy completing assignments and meeting their goals.

Team players are individuals that demonstrate work ethic through teamwork. They know their company works when everyone does their part, and they’re always willing to help a co-worker.

Integrity is a strong indicator of a good work ethic. It guides individuals to make choices that are morally sound, and that are ethically balanced.

• Responsibility

Individuals with a strong work ethic are known to be responsible. Being consistent and reliable shows professionalism and respect for their work.

• Determination

Employees can show a strong work ethic by being determined to meet or exceed goals. Even if they’re not familiar with the task, they will look for resources to help them successfully achieve their goals.

• Professionalism

It can be difficult to do the best work on the hardest days; however, individuals with a strong work ethic persevere and create high-quality work nonetheless.

Procrastination

People with poor work ethic aren’t driven to complete tasks. As a result, they wait until the last minute to complete work and often produce work of poor quality.

Negativity affects others in the workplace and is a common trait of people with bad work ethic because they don’t value professionalism.

Toxicity is a high indication of poor work ethic. These individuals aren’t concerned with creating a productive, welcoming work environment and seek to minimize their peers.

Inefficiency

Employees with poor work ethic may demonstrate inefficiency. While they may complete their tasks, they do it in a way that ultimately takes more time, and costs the company more money.

Irresponsibility

When you have an irresponsible employee, you can see a lack of work ethic in how seriously they take their duties in the workplace. Irresponsible employees don’t place high importance on their commitments and responsibilities.

Passiveness

Passiveness can be a general personality characteristic, but it can also apply to attitudes in the workplace. This attitude means that individuals don’t care either way what happens with their job- in other words, they also demonstrate apathy.

Untimeliness

People with a poor work ethic aren’t driven to go to work, nor are they driven to complete projects as part of their job.

Unprofessional behavior

Unprofessional behavior is a strong indicator of a lack of work ethic, as those employees that take pride in their jobs strive to maintain a professional demeanor.

Next, this list will give you the best tips available for developing a strong work ethic within your company.

1. Lead by example

People look to their leaders for the behaviors they should emulate. Supervisors and the HR department are perfect examples of this.

Show employees the value of a strong work ethic by embodying it yourself, and encouraging supervisors in all departments to do the same.

2. Organize team workshops

Employees tend to be more motivated when they work as a team, and learning skills for their job is no different.

Allowing everyone to work together in a team workshop breeds a more positive environment in the office, and often gives individuals an extra reason to try and excel at learning a new skill.

3. Organize feedback sessions (discussions)

Getting feedback helps you know how employees feel about the company.

You can choose to do individual interviews, group discussions, or even anonymous surveys. The most important part is to get honest, unfiltered feedback.

This feedback can tell you if there’s a general lack of work ethic in the company as a whole, in certain departments, or if certain individuals diminish work ethic.

4. Team building activities

People work harder when they feel like part of a team, and they don’t want to let their teammates down.

Use team-building activities to build rapport between employees, and grow their skills for teamwork.

Working as a team player is an important skill for developing an attitude of a strong work ethic.

5. 1-on-1 meetings to improve attitude

Address problems within your company as soon as possible- but keep it professional.

Don’t try to confront an employee in front of their peers, which can cause embarrassment, and lower morale and motivation. Instead, if you find an individual with problematic attitudes or behaviors, pull them aside for individual meetings.

Try to understand any issues they feel are causing the problem, and help coach them into better work behavior.

6. Encourage mentoring

One way to help enhance work ethic is by giving employees time to learn from a more experienced employee with a strong work ethic.

Mentors understand what less experienced employees deal with, and issues that might cause a negative attitude.

Set aside time and select mentors to be available to ‘coach’ other employees, and ultimately enhance their performance.

7. Keep a professional demeanor

Professionalism is a cornerstone of a strong work ethic.

Remember, a strong work ethic shows that you have great pride in the work you do, and a strong drive to continually succeed.

That also means that you see yourself as part of the team, and want to represent yourself, your coworkers, and your place of work to the very best. You never act in a way that creates a hostile or uncomfortable environment for your peers- you’re too busy trying to achieve your next goal.

Likewise, you don’t create conflict, and address everyone else within the company with the same respect you feel you deserve. You keep a clean-cut, professional appearance that shows you care about how you represent yourself and the company.

What does work ethic mean?

Work ethic represents a set of ethical attitudes towards work that regulates employees’ behavior at work.

What is a strong work ethic?

A strong work ethic refers to an outlook that compels people to succeed within their jobs.

How to develop a strong work ethic?

Create an atmosphere of mutual respect and professionalism among employees. Encourage employees to think of themselves as team players.

How to improve work ethic?

Maintain a professional attitude even in difficult circumstances. Remember that you’re part of a team, and that team needs all players to succeed. If possible, find a mentor (such as a more experienced employee at your company) to help guide you.

What are important skills of strong work ethics?

The most important skills for a strong work ethic include:

How to describe your work ethic?

Highlight positive traits about yourself that show your work ethic. Make these traits specific to you and your attitude. Avoid simply listing skills or traits; instead, try to connect them with job experience or examples.

How do you complete your work? Are you: timely, reliable, professional, or driven? Do you: always arrive on time, consistently complete quality work, support your team members?

Use these traits to build your answer, and make sure you can give relevant examples for each.

What is the protestant work ethic?

The Protestant work ethic is a theory applied to many different subjects, including sociology, theology, and other related studies. You may also hear ‘Protestant work ethic’ referred to Puritan or Calvinist work ethic, although the principles are the same.

In essence, this theory says that people are influenced by the values in their Protestant faith, and tend to demonstrate a more frugal lifestyle, discipline, and diligence in their everyday lives.

What is poor work ethics?

Poor work ethic shows when employees demonstrate bad work habits, including a lack of productivity, lack of concern for deadlines, and poor quality of work. In general, poor work ethics are an overall disregard for the job and professionalism.

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Speechwriting

11 Ethics in Public Speaking

Being a Speaker the Audience Can Trust

In this chapter . . .

In this chapter, you will learn about the importance of ethics in both writing and delivering public speeches. The two major aspects of ethics in terms of public speaking are credibility and plagiarism. We define these issues and present strategies for increasing your credibility and preventing plagiarism, thus allowing you to deliver ethical and effective speeches.

In the fourth century BCE, the classic philosopher Aristotle took up the study of the public speaking practices of the ruling class in Athenian society. For two years he observed the men (it was only men) who spoke publicly in the assembly and the courts. In the end, he developed a theory about persuasiveness that has come down to us in history as a written treatise called Rhetoric. Among his many ideas was the identification of three elements essential to effective public speaking:  ethos ,  logos , and pathos . In short, these mean credibility, reasonability, and emotion.

In this chapter, we will focus on what Aristotle called ethos and what we today would call ethical public speaking . Ethics refers to the branch of philosophy that involves a determination of what is right and moral. On a personal level, it’s a standard of what you should and should not do in various situations. Although ethics are based on personal decisions and values, they are also influenced by factors outside of you.

Ethical Public Speaking 

Ethical Public Speaking refers to those aspects of public speaking that pertain to the personal character of a public speaker and the quality of the content they present in a speech. It involves honest research and truthful presentation, good intentions towards the audience, and the integrity of ideas. We are ethical speakers when we write and present speeches that respect these values.

Honesty & Truthfulness

Ethical public speaking requires adherence to factual truth and respect for your audience. This means that you’ll do your best to present factual, well-documented information designed to improve their lives and help them make informed, intelligent decisions with it. Honesty and truthfulness mean not telling lies and being thorough in representing the truth. When quotes are intentionally taken out of context to misrepresent the original author’s intent or to deceive the audience this isn’t honest research. You may have heard of the phrase “cherry-picking facts.” That’s when essential information is ignored in order to promote one version of the facts. When this happens, honesty fails because the truth is skewed.

A speaker is ethical when the intention of their communication is in the best interest of the audience. It means approaching the speech with honest purpose and wanting the best experience for the audience. If a speaker aims at manipulation, falsifies information, insults the audience, or simply has no intention of fulfilling the purpose of a speech, then they are not acting with good will.

When public speakers research and write speeches, they are expected to do so in a way that respects the sources from which they gain their knowledge and ideas. Furthermore, it’s the responsibility of the speaker to utilize factually accurate sources. When using sources known to be biased it’s important to acknowledge this. This is no different from the way that any writers (students, journalists, researchers, and teachers) are expected to acknowledge the sources of ideas. When we fail to do that, it’s called plagiarism. Plagiarism is unethical and will be discussed in depth below.

When a public speaker successfully conveys to their audience that they possess the qualities of integrity, good will, honesty, and truthfulness, then they have established speaker credibility . “Credibility” means the “quality that someone or something has that makes people believe or trust them” (Oxford Learner’s Dictionary). The success of any speech depends on the speaker’s establishing credibility with their audience. Simple forms of credibility statements form a part of the introduction of a speech, as described in the chapter Introductions and Conclusions .  What follows in this chapter is a more in-depth discussion of this important quality.

Being a Credible Speaker

Speaker credibility  is the positive attitude that the audience acquires toward a speaker. It’s based on both reality and perception and leads the audience to believe that the speaker is honest and competent. An audience wants to be “in good hands” and they use their intelligence and powers of observation to judge whether they should put their trust in a speaker.

Credibility is a product of both the content of a speech and its delivery. It’s related to what the audience hears in a speech as well as their perceptions, or even gut feelings, about the intangible characteristics of the speaker such as appearance, friendliness, sense of humor, likability, poise, and communication ability. It’s hard to overestimate the importance of establishing speaker credibility.

Let’s assume you’re giving an informative speech and you have worked diligently on all the elements of ethical public speaking. The content of your speech is honest (based on fact) and truthful (not “cherry-picked”). You’ve been careful to cite your research sources properly. You have the good intention to educate your audience about the topic and you will avoid manipulating, talking down to, or insulting your audience. You’re a credible speaker, certainly. However, your challenge is this: how do you convey to the audience that you are credible? What are the signs of credibility that they will hear and see? What do you say or do as a speaker so that the audience knows they are “in good hands”—that they can trust in you and in what you have to say?

Because credibility is made up of many factors, both verbal and non-verbal, this isn’t a simple question to answer. Establishing credibility is achieved in both speechwriting and delivery.

Establishing Credibility through Speechwriting

Some of the traits of credibility that a speaker conveys through speechwriting include:

A speaker is credible when they establish their competence on a topic. Competence means the speaker possesses the right level of expertise and sound knowledge about the speech topic, which they have acquired through research or firsthand experience. The speaker explains what the topic means to them and how they learned about it, with statements like: “I started studying the history of Ukraine last year and became fascinated by the people I met” or “I’ve always loved animals and have been volunteering at my local humane society for the past three years.”

Organization

A speaker establishes credibility with a speech that is organized and allows the audience to follow. Good, structured speeches allow the audience to relax and trust the speaker. Organized speeches state and restate their thesis and main ideas, using redundancy to beneficial effect. They allow the audience to follow along by providing connections, summaries, and previews.

Relationship

A speaker becomes credible by establishing a relationship with the audience. The speaker shows that they have thought about who the audience is, both demographically and psychographically and may say something like “I’m happy to be speaking to a group of new voters.”  The speaker introduces themselves (if they haven’t already been introduced by a host); and finds common ground with the audience and communicates these similarities. “Like you, I understand the challenges of being a student athlete . . . ” or “I know it must be strange to hear a 21-year-old talk to you today about retirement, but I helped my grandparents for several years and . . .”

A speaker is credible to an audience when they make use of, and cite, credible sources. Quotations without acknowledgments or mentioning sources by saying “I read on a website that . . . ” will not gain the trust of audience. In speeches that involve research, that present information beyond your own experience, be sure to properly acknowledge your sources. Not doing so will sow the seeds of doubt in an audience and undermine their trust. In speechwriting, this is called “spoken citation” and will be discussed further on in this chapter.

The Importance of the Introduction

While credibility through speechwriting is established throughout the entire speech, pay close attention to the introduction. The introduction is crucial to establishing your credibility. The introduction is the part of the speech where you state your topic and tell the audience why you chose it, what expertise you bring to it, and what it means to you. It’s also the part of the speech when you state your name and affiliation and establish the common interests you share with your audience.

Establishing Credibility through Delivery

Preparation.

Speakers are credible to an audience when they show they are prepared. Unless it’s an entirely impromptu speech occasion, the audience expects a speaker to be ready to speak. Unprepared, unrehearsed, messy, or incomplete notes, losing their place, going off on a tangent, going over allotted time—these are things that will diminish credibility.

A Proper Start

Pay attention to how you enter the speaking area and take stage. Body language speaks volumes. This is where “good will” shows itself. If you drag your feet to the stage and look as if giving a speech is the   last   thing you want to do, why would the audience trust you to care about them?

Pace and Volume

An audience feels that they can trust a speaker who takes the time to speak to them at a comfortable pace and with a volume they can hear.

Eye Contact

A speaker enhances their credibility with an audience through eye contact, establishing a relationship with the audience. An audience wants to be seen. Engaging with them physically helps them stay engaged with your content.

Body Language

Maintaining good posture throughout the speech gives the audience more confidence in you. This will also ensure better volume and eye contact. Using clear and intentional gestures emphasizes particular points and makes the speech visual more interesting.

A Proper Ending

As with a proper start, how you leave the stage is an element in the impression the audience will take away.

On Speaker Credibility—Other Considerations

Before you can encourage the audience’s trust in you, you need to do some self-examination about the elements of credibility that you possess in general and in relation to the specific speech occasion. This is a necessary step. An honest assessment of your credibility will help you in two ways: First, it helps you strategize how you will convey your strengths to the audience, and second, it helps you avoid dishonest or exaggerated claims of credibility. Ask yourself: Is your speech content honest and truthful? Have you done your best to make your speech easy to follow and understand? What do you want for your audience? Who is your audience and what do you have in common with them?

If credibility is a matter of audience perception, does that mean that credibility is only what a speaker manages to get the audience to believe about them, rather than what is  actually  true about the speaker? Of course not. The factors of credibility and ethical public speaking  must be real  before a speaker can successfully convey these qualities to an audience.

That said, it’s an unfortunate fact of public discourse that speakers misrepresent their credibility all the time, either intentionally or unintentionally. Can you think of situations where speakers pretended to be experts when they were not? When they say that they really care about a subject when there is evidence to the contrary? Or, they boast of having similarities with an audience—for example, boasting of a religious affiliation with the audience—but they don’t really possess these similarities? To intentionally misrepresent your background, such as experience and credentials, is clearly unethical. No doubt you can think of many such instances.

Unethical speakers do this because they know how important it’s to establish credibility with an audience. But managing to pass off lies about your credibility doesn’t mean you’re  actually   credible ! Perceptive audience members will know the difference.

Defining Plagiarism

An ethical public speaker has integrity. Although there are many ways that you could undermine your ethical stance before an audience, the one that stands out and is committed most in academic contexts is plagiarism . A dictionary definition of plagiarism would be “the act of using another person’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). According to the student help website Plagiarism.org, sponsored by WriteCheck, plagiarism is often thought of as “copying another’s work or borrowing someone else’s original ideas” (“What is Plagiarism?” 2014). However, this source goes on to say that the common definition may mislead some people. Plagiarism also includes:

• Turning in someone else’s work as your own
• Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• Failing to put quotation marks around an exact quotation correctly
• Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up most of your work, whether you give credit or not

Plagiarism exists outside of the classroom and is a temptation in business, creative endeavors, and politics.

Types of Plagiarism

Generally, there are three types of plagiarism: direct, incorrect paraphrasing, and self-plagiarism. Sometimes these types of plagiarism are intentional, and sometimes they occur unintentionally (you may not know you’re plagiarizing). However, as everyone knows, “Ignorance of the law isn’t an excuse for breaking it.” Unintentional or accidental plagiarism is still plagiarism. Furthermore, the penalties for plagiarism are steep and it’s considered a serious act of misconduct. So, let’s familiarize you with how plagiarism occurs in order to prevent it from happening.

No one wants to be the victim of theft; if it has ever happened to you, you know how awful it feels. When a student takes an essay, research paper, speech, or outline completely from another source, whether it’s a classmate who submitted it for another instructor, from some sort of online essay mill, or from elsewhere, this is an act of theft. If you take a whole text and claim it’s yours, you are committing plagiarism; you are deliberately and directly lying about the authorship of a work. Even just lifting a short passage directly from a source without quoting it and using proper citation, is a form of stealing, thus plagiarism. You are committing plagiarism even if you delete or change a couple of words. If the structure and most of the words are the same as in the original, and you imply it’s your own work, this counts as direct plagiarism. If properly acknowledged and justified, it’s permissible to use verbatim  short parts of another work, as discussed below.

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing means taking someone else’s ideas and rephrasing them in your own words. There’s nothing wrong with rephrasing, in fact, it’s the basis of how we write and think. However, ethical writing (including speechwriting) means acknowledging the source of your ideas by citing or mentioning it. When you restate or summarize information from a source and don’t include a citation you are implying that those ideas came from you. Paraphrasing without citation is the most common form of plagiarism because it often happens unintentionally.

Another unethical, and more deliberate, form of incorrect paraphrasing is when you take two out of every three sentences and mix them up, so they don’t appear in the same order as in the original work. Perhaps the student will add a fresh introduction, a personal example or two, and an original conclusion.

Many students don’t see this as the same thing as stealing because they think “I did some research, I looked some stuff up, and I added some of my own work.” Yet this is only marginally better than direct plagiarism. Why? Because no source has been credited, and the student has “misappropriated” the expression of the ideas as well as the ideas themselves.

A similar sort of paraphrasing plagiarism involves copying passages from various sources and editing them together, mixed with some of your own words. If you do this and don’t correctly cite each source, it’s plagiarism. Furthermore, if your entire paper consists of predominantly the work of other authors that you have stitched together, whether you cite it or not, it’s plagiarism.

Self-Plagiarism

Some colleges and universities have a policy that penalizes or forbids “ self-plagiarism .” This means that you can’t use a paper or outline that you presented in another class a second time. You may think, “How can this be plagiarism or wrong if I wrote both and, in my work, I cited sources correctly?” The issue with re-using your own work is that you are not putting in the amount of effort expected for an assignment. One way to avoid self-plagiarism, particularly if your previous work is published, is to cite yourself. When in doubt, ask first.

Other Considerations

One area in speeches where students are not careful about citing is on their presentation slides. If a graphic or photo is borrowed from a website (that is, you did not design it), there should be a citation in small letters on the slide. The same would be true of borrowed quotations, data, and ideas. Students also like to put their “works cited” or “references” on the last slide, but this really does not help the audience to match particular images or material to the original source.

An issue that often comes up with students happens when two or more students submit the same assignment. When confronted, the student says, “We worked on it together.” If your instructor wants you to work collaboratively, they will make that clear. Otherwise, don’t do this.  Always assume you are expected o turn in your own work. Any use of unauthorized assistance is considered cheating.

Finally, using AI technologies such as chat bots to produce the text of a speech is equivalent to turning in something written by someone else. While it may be permissible to use technology for editing grammar and spelling, you are the author and the idea you present should be the result of your own thinking. Unless stated otherwise in your instructor’s policy, using AI to write a speech constitutes plagiarism.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Avoiding plagiarism involves, first, the intention to create your own work. If you begin by assuming you can take other work and present it as your own, you will surely be in the realm of plagiarism. The second part of avoiding plagiarism is to learn the proper way to cite the sources you use. To “cite” means to provide the sources for your research, creating what is called a “citation.” Citations appear in written work, including essays and speeches, and on many websites, images, and more. Explaining exactly how to create citations for a written essay or research paper is outside the scope of this textbook. There are also free online tools that will generate proper citations for you. In this section and the one following it, we will focus on spoken citations  as they appear in a speech—in other words, how to create a citation for listeners, not readers.

Avoiding Plagiarism with Direct Sources

As explained above, copying whole works from another source is plagiarism. But there are times when it’s appropriate to use a small amount of a source’s exact wording. You should have a good reason for inserting a direct quote. Typically, we quote when the source or author is highly respected, or they have stated the idea in a compelling way, or the material is well known, and others would recognize it. We also quote when we are discussing or analyzing a specific part of a text.

Whether you are using a phrase, a sentence, or even several sentences from another’s work, if you use exact words from a source, it requires quotation. Quoting tells the reader and listener that you are using the exact words from a source. The proper way to manage direct quotes in a speech text is to provide quotation marks at the beginning and end of the quote followed by a source citation. The most common citation is a parenthetical reference such as (Smith 12) where the author’s last name and the page number are written in parentheses following the quote. This parenthetical reference should correspond to a full citation in the bibliography. Alternatively, you can use a superscript number at the end of the quotation that corresponds to a full citation listed in footnotes/endnotes.

When using direct quotations, you should make it clear you’re quoting by the way in which you introduce and end the borrowed material, as in examples further below. A common practice in public speaking is to say quote and/or make air quotes to specify you are about to give a direct quote. It can also be beneficial to change your vocal tone and use appropriate gestures to help differentiate the quote from your own words.

Avoiding Plagiarism when Paraphrasing

As stated earlier, paraphrasing is common form of plagiarism because it often happens unintentionally. It’s important to understand what good paraphrasing is. Look at this example of an original source and three possible ways to paraphrase it.

Original information, posted on CNN.com website, October 31, 2015:

“The biggest federal inmate release on record will take place this weekend. About 6,600 inmates will be released, with 16,500 expected to get out the first year. More than 40,000 federal felons could be released early over the next several years, the U.S. Sentencing Commission said. The sentencing commission decided a year ago to lower maximum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and to make the change retro-active, with the inmate releases effective November 1, 2015. Sentences were reduced an average of 18%, the commission said. Early release will be a challenge for the inmates as well as the judicial bureaucracy” (Casarez, 2015).

With that as the original source, which of the following three is truly paraphrasing?

• The CNN News website says the federal government is releasing 40,000 felons from prison in the next few years.
• According to a report posted on CNN’s website on October 31 of 2015, the federal government’s Sentencing Commission is beginning to release prisoners in November based on a decision made in 2014. That decision was to make maximum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders shorter by an average of 18%. Over the next several years over 40,000 federal felons could be let go. However, this policy change to early release will not be easy for the justice system or those released.
• The largest release ever of federal inmates will take place in early November. At first 6,600 inmates will be released, and then over 16,000 over the first year. The U.S. Sentencing Commission says it could release over 40,000 federal felons over the upcoming years because the sentencing commission decided a year ago to lessen maximum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and to make this happen for those already in jail. When the Sentencing Commission says that when it made that decision, the sentences were reduced by an average of 18%. Early release will be a challenge for the felons as well as the judicial system. This came from a story on CNN News website in later October 2015.

If you chose the second paraphrase, you would be correct. It uses different language and identifies the source of the information clearly at the beginning. The first version does not really interpret the original statement correctly, and the third choice imitates the original almost entirely. Neither of these two would be good paraphrasing.

Notice that each paraphrase example includes a citation that provides the source of the material, but only the second paraphrase does so completely: “According to a report posted on CNN’s website on October 31 of 2015 . . . “

There is a general rule of research that says that if the information you are using is “common knowledge”—dates and facts for example or other information a general reader should know—then it doesn’t need to be cited. A good rule of thumb is if the same information can be found in 4-5 sources where it was not cited, it’s common knowledge. But if it’s an original idea, research results, or the author’s interpretation of common facts then it needs to be cited. If you are in doubt whether you should cite something or not, always err on the side of caution. Over-citing is much better than the alternative: plagiarism.

Keep in mind good research takes time. Procrastinating leads to being unduly pressured to finish. This sort of pressure can lead to sloppy research habits and bad decisions. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to complete your speech so it’s both ethical and well executed.

One way to avoid accidental plagiarism is to keep track of your citations as you are researching and writing. This prevents forgetting where a quotation came from or misattributing the source. Citation managers such as Zotero and Mendeley (which are free to download) not only keep track of all your sources while you research and write they can create instant bibliographies.

Creating Spoken Citations

Now that you understand using two forms of source material—direct quotation, and paraphrase—and you understand the importance of citing your sources to your audience, exactly how should you include a citation in a speech?

In a paper, you would only need to include a written citation such as “(Jones 78)” for a source that the reader can find in the bibliography. But it doesn’t work like for a speech. In a speech, saying “Jones, 78” doesn’t mean anything. Even saying “According to Jones, p. 78,” does little for the audience. Why? Because they can’t turn to a bibliography. They don’t have another way to understand the type of information being conveyed. In speeches it’s necessary, therefore, to give more complete information that would help the audience understand its value. This is why these are called  spoken citations .

What information needs to be included in a spoken citation? The page number, the publishing company, and city it was published in are not very important. What is important is the  type of source : for example, a website, scholarly article, newspaper article, or a book. Then, you should include when it was written, if possible, and the  position, background, or credentials  of the source. There are no fixed rules, however. In determining what should go into the verbal citation, think about the information that is necessary to clarify the relevance and credibility of your source for your audience and let that be your guide.

For example, instead of saying “According to Jones, p. 78,” a better approach would be,

According to Dr. Samuel Jones, Head of Cardiology at Vanderbilt University, in a 2010 article . . .

Whether you are introducing a direct quote or a paraphrase, you can see that it’s best to begin with the citation . Take these examples:

In her 2012 book,  The Iraq War in Context,  historian Mary Smith of the University of Georgia states that . . .

In consulting the website for the American Humane Society, I found these statistics about animal abuse compiled by the Society in 2023:

In the first example, you would insert a quote from Smith’s book after your spoken citation. In the second example, a paraphrase would be appropriate. For example:

In his 2014 book,  Talk Like Ted,  public speaking guru Carmine Gallo states that “Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century.”

In consulting the website TED.org, I learned that the TED organization does much more than sponsoring TED talks. There are also podcasts, a video series, and television programs.

Sometimes when using direct quotes, speakers find it helpful to clarify where the quote begins and ends by saying the word “quote.”  In that case, this is an example of exactly what a speaker would say:

In her 2023 memoir entitled  Finding Me , the actor Viola Davis writes, quote, “I felt my call was to become an actress. It wasn’t. It was bigger than that. I was bigger than my successes.” End quote.

As mentioned above, a speaker can achieve the same effect by making a gesture of air quotes or changing the tone of the voice.

To conclude, citing your sources is immensely important. It shows that you have done proper research to support your ideas and arguments and it allows your audience to find the material if they want more information. Using clear citations makes your speech more credible to the audience.

This chapter introduced you to the ethics of public speaking and how being an ethical public speaker makes you a credible public speaker that audiences will trust. Using sources ethically means not only proper citation, but taking care that the information you use is relevant and presented in context. Avoid manipulating statistical information or taking a quotation from an expert in one field and present as if they are an expert in another field. Differentiate facts from opinions, especially when dealing with controversial subjects. In addition, be sure you understand the material you’re citing before using it. If you’re unsure of any words, look their definitions up so you’re sure to be using the material as it’s intended. Finally, it’s important that you understand the type of publication or source you’re using and any potential biases. It’s your responsibility to help the audience understand the reliability of a particular source, the purpose of including any cited information, and how it relates to your overarching argument.

Something to Think About

The following exercise might be helpful for you to develop an understanding of orally citing your sources.

Choose one of your sources for an upcoming speech for this exercise. On a sheet of paper, answer these questions.

• Is this information you found in a unique source, or information that was repeated in all or most of your sources? (This may bear upon whether you need to cite the information or not.)
• Who is the original author or “speaker” of this quotation or material? Are they an expert, such as a scientist, doctor, government official, college professor, etc.?
• What is the title of source?
• What do you know about the source of the citation? What is the medium (book, article, website)?
• If a website, who sponsors the website (what organization, government, company)?
• When was this information published? What is the date on it?

It’s not necessary to give all this information, but most of it should be included in the citation.

Public Speaking as Performance Copyright © 2023 by Mechele Leon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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2.2 Ethics in Public Speaking

Learning objectives.

• Understand how to apply the National Communication Association (NCA) Credo for Ethical Communication within the context of public speaking.
• Understand how you can apply ethics to your public speaking preparation process.

The study of ethics in human communication is hardly a recent endeavor. One of the earliest discussions of ethics in communication (and particularly in public speaking) was conducted by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato in his dialogue Phaedrus . In the centuries since Plato’s time, an entire subfield within the discipline of human communication has developed to explain and understand communication ethics.

Communication Code of Ethics

In 1999, the National Communication Association officially adopted the Credo for Ethical Communication (see the following sidebar). Ultimately, the NCA Credo for Ethical Communication is a set of beliefs communication scholars have about the ethics of human communication.

National Communication Association Credo for Ethical Communication

Questions of right and wrong arise whenever people communicate. Ethical communication is fundamental to responsible thinking, decision making, and the development of relationships and communities within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and media. Moreover, ethical communication enhances human worth and dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personal integrity, and respect for self and others. We believe that unethical communication threatens the quality of all communication and consequently the well-being of individuals and the society in which we live. Therefore we, the members of the National Communication Association, endorse and are committed to practicing the following principles of ethical communication:

• We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication.
• We endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to achieve the informed and responsible decision making fundamental to a civil society.
• We strive to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their messages.
• We promote access to communication resources and opportunities as necessary to fulfill human potential and contribute to the well-being of families, communities, and society.
• We promote communication climates of caring and mutual understanding that respect the unique needs and characteristics of individual communicators.
• We condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence, and through the expression of intolerance and hatred.
• We are committed to the courageous expression of personal convictions in pursuit of fairness and justice.
• We advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings when facing significant choices while also respecting privacy and confidentiality.
• We accept responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences of our own communication and expect the same of others.

Source: http://www.natcom.org/Default.aspx?id=134&terms=Credo

Applying the NCA Credo to Public Speaking

The NCA Credo for Ethical Communication is designed to inspire discussions of ethics related to all aspects of human communication. For our purposes, we want to think about each of these principles in terms of how they affect public speaking.

We Advocate Truthfulness, Accuracy, Honesty, and Reason as Essential to the Integrity of Communication

Carmella Fernando – Promise? – CC BY 2.0.

As public speakers, one of the first ethical areas we should be concerned with is information honesty. While there are cases where speakers have blatantly lied to an audience, it is more common for speakers to prove a point by exaggerating, omitting facts that weigh against their message, or distorting information. We believe that speakers build a relationship with their audiences, and that lying, exaggerating, or distorting information violates this relationship. Ultimately, a speaker will be more persuasive by using reason and logical arguments supported by facts rather than relying on emotional appeals designed to manipulate the audience.

It is also important to be honest about where all your information comes from in a speech. As speakers, examine your information sources and determine whether they are biased or have hidden agendas. For example, you are not likely to get accurate information about nonwhite individuals from a neo-Nazi website. While you may not know all your sources of information firsthand, you should attempt to find objective sources that do not have an overt or covert agenda that skews the argument you are making. We will discuss more about ethical sources of information in Chapter 7 “Researching Your Speech” later in this book.

The second part of information honesty is to fully disclose where we obtain the information in our speeches. As ethical speakers, it is important to always cite your sources of information within the body of a speech. Whether you conducted an interview or read a newspaper article, you must tell your listeners where the information came from. We mentioned earlier in this chapter that using someone else’s words or ideas without giving credit is called plagiarism . The word “plagiarism” stems from the Latin word plagiaries , or kidnapper. The American Psychological Association states in its publication manual that ethical speakers do not claim “words and ideas of another as their own; they give credit where credit is due” (American Psychological Association, 2001).

In the previous sentence, we placed quotation marks around the sentence to indicate that the words came from the American Psychological Association and not from us. When speaking informally, people sometimes use “air quotes” to signal direct quotations—but this is not a recommended technique in public speaking. Instead, speakers need to verbally tell an audience when they are using someone else’s information. The consequences for failing to cite sources during public speeches can be substantial. When Senator Joseph Biden was running for president of the United States in 1988, reporters found that he had plagiarized portions of his stump speech from British politician Neil Kinnock. Biden was forced to drop out of the race as a result. More recently, the student newspaper at Malone University in Ohio alleged that the university president, Gary W. Streit, had plagiarized material in a public speech. Streit retired abruptly as a result.

Even if you are not running for president of the United States or serving as a college president, citing sources is important to you as a student. Many universities have policies that include dismissal from the institution for student plagiarism of academic work, including public speeches. Failing to cite your sources might result, at best, in lower credibility with your audience and, at worst, in a failing grade on your assignment or expulsion from your school. While we will talk in more detail about plagiarism later in this book, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of giving credit to the speakers and authors whose ideas we pass on within our own speeches and writing.

Speakers tend to fall into one of three major traps with plagiarism. The first trap is failing to tell the audience the source of a direct quotation. In the previous paragraph, we used a direct quotation from the American Psychological Association; if we had not used the quotation marks and clearly listed where the cited material came from, you, as a reader, wouldn’t have known the source of that information. To avoid plagiarism, you always need to tell your audience when you are directly quoting information within a speech.

The second plagiarism trap public speakers fall into is paraphrasing what someone else said or wrote without giving credit to the speaker or author. For example, you may have read a book and learned that there are three types of schoolyard bullying. In the middle of your speech you talk about those three types of schoolyard bullying. If you do not tell your audience where you found that information, you are plagiarizing. Typically, the only information you do not need to cite is information that is general knowledge. General knowledge is information that is publicly available and widely known by a large segment of society. For example, you would not need to provide a citation within a speech for the name of Delaware’s capital. Although many people do not know the capital of Delaware without looking it up, this information is publicly available and easily accessible, so assigning credit to one specific source is not useful or necessary.

The third plagiarism trap that speakers fall into is re-citing someone else’s sources within a speech. To explain this problem, let’s look at a brief segment from a research paper written by Wrench, DiMartino, Ramirez, Oviedio, and Tesfamariam:

The main character on the hit Fox television show House , Dr. Gregory House, has one basic mantra, “It’s a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what” (Shore & Barclay, 2005). This notion that “everybody lies” is so persistent in the series that t-shirts have been printed with the slogan. Surprisingly, research has shown that most people do lie during interpersonal interactions to some degree. In a study conducted by Turner, Edgley, and Olmstead (1975), the researchers had 130 participants record their own conversations with others. After recording these conversations, the participants then examined the truthfulness of the statements within the interactions. Only 38.5% of the statements made during these interactions were labeled as “completely honest.”

In this example, we see that the authors of this paragraph cited information from two external sources: Shore and Barclay and Tummer, Edgley, and Olmstead. These two groups of authors are given credit for their ideas. The authors make it clear that they did not produce the television show House or conduct the study that found that only 38.5 percent of statements were completely honest. Instead, these authors cited information found in two other locations. This type of citation is appropriate.

However, if a speaker read the paragraph and said the following during a speech, it would be plagiarism: “According to Wrench DiMartino, Ramirez, Oviedio, and Tesfamariam, in a study of 130 participants, only 38.5 percent of the responses were completely honest.” In this case, the speaker is attributing the information cited to the authors of the paragraph, which is not accurate. If you want to cite the information within your speech, you need to read the original article by Turner, Edgley, and Olmstead and cite that information yourself.

There are two main reasons we do this. First, Wrench, DiMartino, Ramirez, Oviedio, and Tesfamariam may have mistyped the information. Suppose the study by Turner, Edgley, and Olstead really actually found that 58.5 percent of the responses were completely honest. If you cited the revised number (38.5 percent) from the paragraph, you would be further spreading incorrect information.

The second reason we do not re-cite someone else’s sources within our speeches is because it’s intellectually dishonest. You owe your listeners an honest description of where the facts you are relating came from, not just the name of an author who cited those facts. It is more work to trace the original source of a fact or statistic, but by doing that extra work you can avoid this plagiarism trap.

We Endorse Freedom of Expression, Diversity of Perspective, and Tolerance of Dissent to Achieve the Informed and Responsible Decision Making Fundamental to a Civil Society

This ethical principle affirms that a civil society depends on freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent and that informed and responsible decisions can only be made if all members of society are free to express their thoughts and opinions. Further, it holds that diverse viewpoints, including those that disagree with accepted authority, are important for the functioning of a democratic society.

If everyone only listened to one source of information, then we would be easily manipulated and controlled. For this reason, we believe that individuals should be willing to listen to a range of speakers on a given subject. As listeners or consumers of communication, we should realize that this diversity of perspectives enables us to be more fully informed on a subject. Imagine voting in an election after listening only to the campaign speeches of one candidate. The perspective of that candidate would be so narrow that you would have no way to accurately understand and assess the issues at hand or the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing candidates. Unfortunately, some voters do limit themselves to listening only to their candidate of choice and, as a result, base their voting decisions on incomplete—and, not infrequently, inaccurate—information.

Listening to diverse perspectives includes being willing to hear dissenting voices. Dissent is by nature uncomfortable, as it entails expressing opposition to authority, often in very unflattering terms. Legal scholar Steven H. Shiffrin has argued in favor of some symbolic speech (e.g., flag burning) because we as a society value the ability of anyone to express their dissent against the will and ideas of the majority (Shiffrin, 1999). Ethical communicators will be receptive to dissent, no matter how strongly they may disagree with the speaker’s message because they realize that a society that forbids dissent cannot function democratically.

Ultimately, honoring free speech and seeking out a variety of perspectives is very important for all listeners. We will discuss this idea further in the chapter on listening.

We Strive to Understand and Respect Other Communicators before Evaluating and Responding to Their Messages

This is another ethical characteristic that is specifically directed at receivers of a message. As listeners, we often let our perceptions of a speaker’s nonverbal behavior—his or her appearance, posture, mannerisms, eye contact, and so on—determine our opinions about a message before the speaker has said a word. We may also find ourselves judging a speaker based on information we have heard about him or her from other people. Perhaps you have heard from other students that a particular teacher is a really boring lecturer or is really entertaining in class. Even though you do not have personal knowledge, you may prejudge the teacher and his or her message based on information you have been given from others. The NCA credo reminds us that to be ethical listeners, we need to avoid such judgments and instead make an effort to listen respectfully; only when we have understood a speaker’s viewpoint are we ready to begin forming our opinions of the message.

Listeners should try to objectively analyze the content and arguments within a speech before deciding how to respond. Especially when we disagree with a speaker, we might find it difficult to listen to the content of the speech and, instead, work on creating a rebuttal the entire time the speaker is talking. When this happens, we do not strive to understand the speaker and do not respect the speaker.

Of course, this does not just affect the listener in the public speaking situation. As speakers, we are often called upon to evaluate and refute potential arguments against our positions. While we always want our speeches to be as persuasive as possible, we do ourselves and our audiences a disservice when we downplay, distort, or refuse to mention important arguments from the opposing side. Fairly researching and evaluating counterarguments is an important ethical obligation for the public speaker.

We Promote Access to Communication Resources and Opportunities as Necessary to Fulfill Human Potential and Contribute to the Well-Being of Families, Communities, and Society

Human communication is a skill that can and should be taught. We strongly believe that you can become a better, more ethical speaker. One of the reasons the authors of this book teach courses in public speaking and wrote this college textbook on public speaking is that we, as communication professionals, have an ethical obligation to provide others, including students like you, with resources and opportunities to become better speakers.

We Promote Communication Climates of Caring and Mutual Understanding That Respect the Unique Needs and Characteristics of Individual Communicators

Speakers need to take a two-pronged approach when addressing any audience: caring about the audience and understanding the audience. When you as a speaker truly care about your audience’s needs and desires, you avoid setting up a manipulative climate. This is not to say that your audience will always perceive their own needs and desires in the same way you do, but if you make an honest effort to speak to your audience in a way that has their best interests at heart, you are more likely to create persuasive arguments that are not just manipulative appeals.

Second, it is important for a speaker to create an atmosphere of mutual understanding. To do this, you should first learn as much as possible about your audience, a process called audience analysis. We will discuss this topic in more detail in the audience analysis chapter.

To create a climate of caring and mutual respect, it is important for us as speakers to be open with our audiences so that our intentions and perceptions are clear. Nothing alienates an audience faster than a speaker with a hidden agenda unrelated to the stated purpose of the speech. One of our coauthors once listened to a speaker give a two-hour talk, allegedly about workplace wellness, which actually turned out to be an infomercial for the speaker’s weight-loss program. In this case, the speaker clearly had a hidden (or not-so-hidden) agenda, which made the audience feel disrespected.

We Condemn Communication That Degrades Individuals and Humanity through Distortion, Intimidation, Coercion, and Violence and through the Expression of Intolerance and Hatred

This ethical principle is very important for all speakers. Hopefully, intimidation, coercion, and violence will not be part of your public speaking experiences, but some public speakers have been known to call for violence and incite mobs of people to commit attrocities. Thus distortion and expressions of intolerance and hatred are of special concern when it comes to public speaking.

Distortion occurs when someone purposefully twists information in a way that detracts from its original meaning. Unfortunately, some speakers take information and use it in a manner that is not in the spirit of the original information. One place we see distortion frequently is in the political context, where politicians cite a statistic or the results of a study and either completely alter the information or use it in a deceptive manner. FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center ( http://www.factcheck.org ), and the St. Petersburg Times’s Politifact ( http://www.politifact.com ) are nonpartisan organizations devoted to analyzing political messages and demonstrating how information has been distorted.

Expressions of intolerance and hatred that are to be avoided include using ageist , heterosexist , racist , sexist , and any other form of speech that demeans or belittles a group of people. Hate speech from all sides of the political spectrum in our society is detrimental to ethical communication. As such, we as speakers should be acutely aware of how an audience may perceive words that could be considered bigoted. For example, suppose a school board official involved in budget negotiations used the word “shekels” to refer to money, which he believes the teachers’ union should be willing to give up (Associated Press, 2011). The remark would be likely to prompt accusations of anti-Semitism and to distract listeners from any constructive suggestions the official might have for resolving budget issues. Although the official might insist that he meant no offense, he damaged the ethical climate of the budget debate by using a word associated with bigotry.

At the same time, it is important for listeners to pay attention to expressions of intolerance or hatred. Extremist speakers sometimes attempt to disguise their true agendas by avoiding bigoted “buzzwords” and using mild-sounding terms instead. For example, a speaker advocating the overthrow of a government might use the term “regime change” instead of “revolution”; similarly, proponents of genocide in various parts of the world have used the term “ethnic cleansing” instead of “extermination.” By listening critically to the gist of a speaker’s message as well as the specific language he or she uses, we can see how that speaker views the world.

We Are Committed to the Courageous Expression of Personal Convictions in Pursuit of Fairness and Justice

We believe that finding and bringing to light situations of inequality and injustice within our society is important. Public speaking has been used throughout history to point out inequality and injustice, from Patrick Henry arguing against the way the English government treated the American colonists and Sojourner Truth describing the evils of slavery to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and Army Lt. Dan Choi’s speeches arguing that the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” is unjust. Many social justice movements have started because young public speakers have decided to stand up for what they believe is fair and just.

We Advocate Sharing Information, Opinions, and Feelings When Facing Significant Choices While Also Respecting Privacy and Confidentiality

This ethical principle involves balancing personal disclosure with discretion. It is perfectly normal for speakers to want to share their own personal opinions and feelings about a topic; however, it is also important to highlight information within a speech that represents your own thoughts and feelings. Your listeners have a right to know the difference between facts and personal opinions.

Similarly, we have an obligation to respect others’ privacy and confidentiality when speaking. If information is obtained from printed or publicly distributed material, it’s perfectly appropriate to use that information without getting permission, as long as you cite it. However, when you have a great anecdote one of your friends told you in confidence, or access to information that is not available to the general public, it is best to seek permission before using the information in a speech.

This ethical obligation even has legal implications in many government and corporate contexts. For example, individuals who work for the Central Intelligence Agency are legally precluded from discussing their work in public without prior review by the agency. And companies such as Google also have policies requiring employees to seek permission before engaging in public speaking in which sensitive information might be leaked.

We Accept Responsibility for the Short- and Long-Term Consequences of Our Own Communication and Expect the Same of Others

The last statement of NCA’s ethical credo may be the most important one. We live in a society where a speaker’s message can literally be heard around the world in a matter of minutes, thanks to our global communication networks. Extreme remarks made by politicians, media commentators, and celebrities, as well as ordinary people, can unexpectedly “go viral” with regrettable consequences. It is not unusual to see situations where a speaker talks hatefully about a specific group, but when one of the speaker’s listeners violently attacks a member of the group, the speaker insists that he or she had no way of knowing that this could possibly have happened. Washing one’s hands of responsibility is unacceptable: all speakers should accept responsibility for the short-term and long-term consequences of their speeches. Although it is certainly not always the speaker’s fault if someone commits an act of violence, the speaker should take responsibility for her or his role in the situation. This process involves being truly reflective and willing to examine how one’s speech could have tragic consequences.

Furthermore, attempting to persuade a group of people to take any action means you should make sure that you understand the consequences of that action. Whether you are persuading people to vote for a political candidate or just encouraging them to lose weight, you should know what the short-term and long-term consequences of that decision could be. While our predictions of short-term and long-term consequences may not always be right, we have an ethical duty to at least think through the possible consequences of our speeches and the actions we encourage.

Practicing Ethical Public Speaking

Thus far in this section we’ve introduced you to the basics of thinking through the ethics of public speaking. Knowing about ethics is essential, but even more important to being an ethical public speaker is putting that knowledge into practice by thinking through possible ethical pitfalls prior to standing up and speaking out. Table 2.1 “Public Speaking Ethics Checklist” is a checklist based on our discussion in this chapter to help you think through some of these issues.

Table 2.1 Public Speaking Ethics Checklist

Key Takeaways

• All eight of the principles espoused in the NCA Credo for Ethical Communication can be applied to public speaking. Some of the principles relate more to the speaker’s role in communication, while others relate to both the speaker’s and the audience’s role in public speech.
• When preparing a speech, it is important to think about the ethics of public speaking from the beginning. When a speaker sets out to be ethical in his or her speech from the beginning, arriving at ethical speech is much easier.
• Fill out the “Public Speaking Ethics Checklist” while thinking about your first speech. Did you mark “true” for any of the statements? If so, why? What can you do as a speaker to get to the point where you can check them all as “false”?
• Robert is preparing a speech about legalizing marijuana use in the United States. He knows that his roommate wrote a paper on the topic last semester and asks his roommate about the paper in an attempt to gather information. During his speech, Robert orally cites his roommate by name as a source of his information but does not report that the source is his roommate, whose experience is based on writing a paper. In what ways does Robert’s behavior violate the guidelines set out in the NCA Credo for Ethical Communication?

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author, p. 349.

Associated Press. (2011, May 5). Conn. shekel shellacking. New York Post .

Shiffrin, S. H. (1999). Dissent, injustice and the meanings of America . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Stand up, Speak out Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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10 Outstanding Work Ethic Examples to Inspire Success

Understanding the Importance of Work Ethic

Defining work ethic.

Work ethic can be defined as the set of principles and values that guide an individual's approach to work. It involves a strong commitment to responsibilities, a positive attitude, and a sense of personal accountability for delivering high-quality results. Having a solid work ethic is not only beneficial to your own success but also influences the success of the team and organization you are a part of.

Developing a strong work ethic requires self-discipline and a dedication to continuous improvement. It involves setting high standards for yourself and consistently striving to meet or exceed them. By demonstrating reliability, diligence, and professionalism in your work, you not only enhance your own reputation but also contribute to a positive work culture that fosters productivity and growth.

The Role of Work Ethic in Success

Work ethic plays a pivotal role in determining our level of achievement and fulfillment in our careers. When we consistently demonstrate a strong work ethic, we earn the trust and respect of our colleagues and superiors. This, in turn, opens doors to new opportunities and advancement. Moreover, a strong work ethic instills discipline, perseverance, and the ability to overcome challenges – qualities that are essential for long-term success.

Furthermore, a strong work ethic is often contagious and can inspire those around you to elevate their own performance. By embodying a commitment to excellence and a proactive approach to tasks, you set a positive example for others to follow. This not only creates a more cohesive and motivated team environment but also cultivates a culture of success within the organization as a whole.

The Components of a Strong Work Ethic

Responsibility and reliability.

Being responsible and reliable is at the core of a strong work ethic. It means taking ownership of your tasks and delivering on your commitments. A responsible individual takes initiative, meets deadlines, and ensures that their work meets or exceeds expectations.

Responsibility also extends to acknowledging mistakes and learning from them. A strong work ethic involves accountability and the willingness to take corrective action when necessary. By admitting errors and working towards improvement, individuals demonstrate integrity and a commitment to personal growth.

Dedication and Determination

Dedication and determination are key components of a strong work ethic. It involves setting clear goals , staying focused, and putting in the necessary effort to achieve those goals. Even when faced with obstacles or setbacks, individuals with a strong work ethic persevere and find ways to overcome challenges.

Moreover, dedication goes beyond mere task completion. It encompasses a passion for one's work, a drive to continually improve, and a willingness to go above and beyond expectations. By approaching tasks with enthusiasm and a positive attitude, individuals with a strong work ethic inspire those around them and contribute to a culture of excellence.

Professionalism and Respect

Professionalism and respect are essential qualities in any workplace. Those with a strong work ethic act with integrity , treat others with respect, and maintain a high level of professionalism in their interactions. They understand the importance of teamwork and collaboration, striving to create a positive and supportive work environment.

Furthermore, professionalism involves effective communication, both verbal and non-verbal. Clear and concise communication fosters understanding and prevents misunderstandings. Respectful communication, whether with colleagues, supervisors, or clients, builds trust and strengthens relationships, creating a harmonious and productive work environment.

Exploring the 10 Outstanding Work Ethic Examples

Example 1: punctuality and time management.

One standout example of a strong work ethic is punctuality and effective time management. Being punctual demonstrates respect for others' time and shows a commitment to meeting deadlines. Additionally, effective time management allows individuals to prioritize tasks, allocate resources wisely, and optimize productivity .

Imagine a scenario where an employee consistently arrives late to work, causing delays in team meetings and project timelines. This lack of punctuality not only disrupts the flow of work but also sends a message that the individual does not value their colleagues' time. On the other hand, someone with a strong work ethic understands the importance of punctuality and strives to be on time, setting a positive example for others.

Example 2: Initiative and Self-Motivation

Initiative and self-motivation are essential qualities that propel individuals to take action and go above and beyond what is expected of them. Those with a strong work ethic proactively seek opportunities to contribute, innovate, and continuously improve their skills and knowledge.

Consider an employee who consistently takes the initiative to propose new ideas or suggest process improvements. This individual's self-motivation drives them to think creatively and find ways to enhance their work environment. Their strong work ethic not only benefits their own growth but also inspires others to think outside the box and strive for excellence.

Example 3: Quality of Work

A strong work ethic involves a commitment to delivering high-quality work. Individuals with this ethic pay attention to detail, seek feedback to improve their performance, and take pride in the results they produce.

Imagine a situation where two employees are given the same task. One employee with a strong work ethic meticulously reviews their work, double-checks for errors, and ensures that the final product is of the highest quality. The other employee, lacking a strong work ethic, rushes through the task, neglects important details, and produces subpar work. The difference in the quality of work is evident, highlighting the importance of a strong work ethic in achieving excellence.

Example 4: Teamwork and Collaboration

Successful individuals recognize the importance of teamwork and collaboration in achieving shared goals. They actively contribute to team discussions, respect diverse perspectives, and are willing to lend a helping hand to their colleagues.

Imagine a team where each member possesses a strong work ethic. They actively listen to one another, value each other's contributions, and collaborate effectively to achieve the team's objectives. This synergy creates a positive work environment where ideas flow freely, conflicts are resolved constructively, and collective success is celebrated. A strong work ethic not only benefits the individual but also fosters a sense of unity and camaraderie within the team.

Example 5: Adaptability and Flexibility

Another outstanding example of a strong work ethic is the ability to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing work environment. Individuals with this ethic embrace new challenges, willingly adjust their approach when necessary, and demonstrate resilience in the face of adversity.

Consider a situation where a project encounters unexpected obstacles, requiring the team to quickly pivot and find alternative solutions. An individual with a strong work ethic remains calm, assesses the situation objectively, and adapts their strategies accordingly. Their ability to embrace change and remain flexible not only helps overcome challenges but also inspires confidence in their colleagues and stakeholders.

Example 6: Problem-Solving Skills

Strong problem-solving skills are highly valued in any workplace. Those with a strong work ethic approach challenges with a solution-oriented mindset. They actively seek innovative solutions, think critically, and persevere until the problem is resolved.

Imagine a scenario where a complex issue arises, causing a significant disruption in the workflow. An individual with a strong work ethic takes charge, gathers relevant information, and collaborates with others to identify potential solutions. They analyze the problem from different angles, think outside the box, and persistently work towards finding a resolution. Their problem-solving skills, coupled with their strong work ethic, contribute to the overall success of the team and organization.

Example 7: Honesty and Integrity

Honesty and integrity are non-negotiable aspects of a strong work ethic. Individuals with this ethic possess a moral compass that guides their actions and decisions. They are trustworthy, act ethically, and take responsibility for their mistakes.

Consider a situation where an employee faces a dilemma that tests their integrity. They could choose to take a shortcut that compromises the quality of their work or act honestly and follow the established procedures. An individual with a strong work ethic would choose the path of integrity, even if it means facing challenges or setbacks. Their commitment to honesty builds trust among colleagues and stakeholders, fostering a culture of transparency and accountability.

Example 8: Positive Attitude

A positive attitude is contagious and can uplift the entire work environment. Individuals with a strong work ethic approach challenges with optimism, maintain a can-do attitude, and inspire others with their resilience and enthusiasm.

Imagine a workplace where an employee consistently radiates positivity, even in the face of adversity. Their strong work ethic enables them to tackle challenges with a smile, find silver linings in difficult situations, and motivate their colleagues to keep pushing forward. Their positive attitude creates a supportive and energizing atmosphere that enhances productivity and fosters a sense of unity.

Example 9: Persistence and Resilience

Persistence and resilience are crucial when faced with setbacks or failures. Those with a strong work ethic do not let adversity discourage them. Instead, they learn from their experiences, adapt their strategies, and persevere until they achieve their desired outcomes.

Consider a situation where an employee encounters a series of setbacks while working on a project. Despite the challenges, an individual with a strong work ethic remains determined, learns from each setback, and adjusts their approach accordingly. Their resilience allows them to bounce back from failures, maintain focus on their goals, and ultimately achieve success. Their unwavering commitment to their work serves as an inspiration to others facing similar obstacles.

Example 10: Continuous Learning and Improvement

Finally, individuals with a strong work ethic are committed to continuous learning and improvement. They seek out opportunities for growth, stay updated with industry trends, and invest in developing their skills and knowledge.

Imagine an employee who actively participates in professional development programs, attends workshops, and seeks mentorship opportunities. Their strong work ethic drives them to continuously expand their knowledge and skills, ensuring they remain relevant in a rapidly evolving work landscape. Their commitment to continuous learning not only benefits their own professional growth but also contributes to the overall success of the organization.

By embracing these ten outstanding work ethic examples, you can take your professional journey to new heights. Remember that success isn't solely determined by talent or luck; it is equally influenced by the values and behaviors we embody. So, cultivate a strong work ethic, and let it guide you towards a successful and fulfilling career!

Embracing a strong work ethic is just the beginning. To truly thrive and find joy in your professional life, it's essential to be part of a team that feels like family—a team that invests in and supports a culture of belonging. At Candor, we're dedicated to helping you and your team cultivate this environment, where every day feels like play and culture is a shared journey. Don't let your team's potential go untapped. Sign up for Free today and start building a workplace where everyone feels at home, where culture is a democracy, and success is a collective achievement. Join Candor and step into a future of collaboration, authenticity, and happiness at work.

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Module 13: Ethics in Public Speaking

Ethical speaking.

In January, 2012, an Australian politician, Anthony Albanese, presented a speech to the National Press Club. Several people criticized this speech, saying that he stole lines from Michael Douglas’s character  (the U.S. President) in the movie The American President . Several specific lines from Albanese’s speech did seem to mirror Douglas’s monologue, with only the names changed. The Liberal Party federal director, Brian Loughnane, claimed that this shows Albanese is “unoriginal and devoid of ideas.” Others stated that he should be embarrassed and should apologize to the Parliament. [1]

What do you think about Albanese’s speech? Was this a simple mishap? A funny prank? Something more serious? What do you think this says about Albanese’s character? His reputation as a politician? Assessing your attitudes and values toward this situation is the same as considering how ethics play a role in public speaking.

Ethical public speaking is not a one-time event. It does not just occur when you stand to give a 5-minute presentation to your classmates or co-workers. Ethical public speaking is a process. This process begins when you begin brainstorming the topic of your speech. Every time you plan to speak to an audience—whether it is at a formal speaking event or an impromptu pitch at your workplace—you have ethical responsibilities to fulfill. The two most important aspects in ethical communication include your ability to remain honest while avoiding plagiarism and to set and meet responsible speech goals.

Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people. – Spencer Johnson

Be Honest and Avoid P lagiarism

Credible public speakers are open and honest with their audiences. Honesty includes telling your audience why you’re speaking (thesis statement) and what you’ll address throughout your speech (preview). For instance, one example of dishonest speech is when a vacation destination offers “complimentary tours and sessions” which are really opportunities for a sales person to pitch a timeshare to unsuspecting tourists. In addition to being clear about the speech goal, honest speakers are clear with audience members when providing supporting information.

One example of dishonest public communication occurs in the music industry where many cases of illegal melody lifting exist. For example, a famous Beach Boys song titled Surfin’ USA is actually a note-for-note rendition of a 1958 Chuck Berry song. Though it may be common, the practice of not properly crediting an author for his or her work is unethical. Other examples of deceitful communication include political speeches that intentionally mislead the public. For instance, a former White House press aide, Scott McClellan, claims that President Bush misled the American people about reasons for the Iraqi war. McClellan claims that the President had manipulated sources in order to gain support for the war. Such claims can be damaging to one’s reputation. Thus, responsible public speakers must actively avoid plagiarism and remain committed to honesty and integrity at all costs.

Mimi & Eunice, “Thief” by Nina Paley. CC-BY-SA .

Identify Your Sources

The first step of ethical speech preparation is to take notes as you research your speech topic. Careful notes will help you remember where you learned your information. Recalling your sources is important because it enables speaker honesty. Passing off another’s work as your own or neglecting to cite the source for your information is considered plagiarism . This unethical act can result in several consequences, ranging from a loss in credibility to academic expulsion or job loss. Even with these potential consequences, plagiarism is unfortunately common. In a national survey, 87 percent of students claimed that their peers plagiarized from the Internet at least some of the time. [2] This statistic does not take into account whether or not the plagiarism was intentional, occurring when the writer or speaker knowingly presented information as his or her own; or unintentional, occurring when careless citing leads to information being uncredited or miscredited. However, it is important to note that being unaware of how to credit sources should not be an excuse for unintentional plagiarism. In other words, speakers are held accountable for intentional and unintentional plagiarism. The remainder of this section discusses how to ensure proper credit is given when preparing and presenting a speech.

A liar should have a good memory. – Quintilian

There are three distinct types of plagiarism—global, patchwork, and incremental plagiarism. [3]   Global plagiarism , the most obvious form of plagiarism, transpires when a speaker presents a speech that is not his or her own work. For example, if a student finds a speech on the Internet or borrows a former speech from a roommate and recites that speech verbatim, global plagiarism has occurred. Global plagiarism is the most obvious type of theft. However, other forms of plagiarism are less obvious but still represent dishonest public speaking.

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything. – Mark Twain

“Rainbow Dahlia quilt” by Holice E. Turnbow. CC-BY-SA .

Sometimes a student neglects to cite a source simply because she or he forgot where the idea was first learned. Shi explains that many students struggle with plagiarism because they’ve reviewed multiple texts and changed wording so that ideas eventually feel like their own. Students engage in “‘patchwriting’ by copying from a source text and then deleting or changing a few words and altering the sentence structures.” [4]   Patchwork plagiarism is plagiarism that occurs when one “patches” together bits and pieces from one or more sources and represents the end result as his or her own. Michael O’Neill also coined the term “paraplaging” [5] to explain how an author simply uses partial text of sources with partial original writing. An example of patchwork plagiarism is if you create a speech by pasting together parts of another speech or author’s work. Read the following hypothetical scenario to get a better understanding of subtle plagiarism.

Three months ago, Carley was talking to her coworkers about expanding their company’s client base. Carley reported some of the ideas she’d been pondering with Stephen and Juan. The three employees shared ideas and provided constructive criticism in order to perfect each notion, and then mentioned they’d revisit the conversation over lunch sometime soon. A week later, Carley shared one of her ideas during the company’s Monday morning staff meeting. Carley came up with the idea, but Stephen and Juan helped her think through some of the logistics of bringing in more clients. Her peers’ input was key to making Carley’s client-building idea work. When Carley pitched her idea at the company staff meeting, she didn’t mention Stephen or Juan. She shared her idea with senior management and then waited for feedback.

Did Carley behave unethically? Some would say: “No!” since she shared her own idea. Did Carley speak honestly? Perhaps not because she didn’t account for how her idea took shape— with the help of Stephen and Juan. This scenario is an example of how complicated honesty becomes when speaking to an audience.

The third type of plagiarism is incremental plagiarism, or when most of the speech is the speaker’s original work, but quotes or other information have been used without being cited. Incremental plagiarism can occur if, for example, you provide a statistic to support your claim, but do not provide the source for that statistic. Another example would be if a student included a direct quote from former president Ronald Reagan without letting the audience know that those were Reagan’s exact words. Understanding the different types of plagiarism is the first step in ensuring that you prepare an honest speech.

Decide When to Cite

When speaking publicly you must orally cite all information that isn’t general knowledge. For example, if your speech claims that the sun is a star, you do not have to cite that information since it’s general knowledge. If your speech claims that the sun’s temperature is 15.6 million Kelvin, [7] then you should cite that source aloud. Ethical speakers are not required to cite commonly known information (e.g., skin is the largest human organ; Barack Obama was elected President of the U.S. in 2008). However, any information that isn’t general knowledge must be orally cited during a speech. The same is true in the text of a speech outline: cite all non-general information.

The OWL, an online writing lab at Purdue University, provides an excellent guide for when you need to cite information (see Table 3.1). Understanding when to include source material is the first step in being able to ethically cite sources. The next step in this process is to determine how to appropriately cite sources orally and in written materials.

Cite Sources Properly

You’ve learned the importance of citing sources. Now that you know why written and oral citations are important to the ethical process of public speaking, let’s focus on how to cite supporting speech material. Studies show that oftentimes students do not cite a source because they’re unsure of how or when to cite a reference. Shi’s study describes some typical responses for why students did not cite sources, such as “I couldn’t remember where I learned the information,” or “I had already cited that author and didn’t want the audience to think all of my information was from some outside source.” Though these rationales are understandable, they are not ethical.

Understand Paraphrasing and D irect Quotations

Next, it is important to understand the process for paraphrasing and directly quoting sources in order to support your speech claims. First, what is the difference between paraphrasing and directly quoting a source? If you research and learn information from a source—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for instance— and then share that information in your own words; you don’t use quotation marks; but you do credit the CDC as your source. This is known as a paraphrase —a sentence or string of sentences that shares learned information in your own words. A direct quote is any sentence or string of sentences that conveys an author’s idea word-for-word. According to the APA (American Psychological Association), when writing speech content, you must include quotation marks around an author’s work when you use his or her keywords, phrases, or sentences. This would be relevant for a speech outline, a handout, or a visual aid. It is also important to specify a direct quote when you are orally citing during your speech. This indicates to the audience that you are using the original author’s exact words. While it is acceptable to use the phrases “begin quote” and “end quote” to indicate this to your audience, such phrases can be distracting to the audience. One way to clearly and concisely indicate a direct quote is to take a purposeful pause right before and after the quoted material. This differentiates between your words and the source material’s words. See Table 3.2 for examples of how to paraphrase and directly quote an author, both in written speech materials and for an oral citation.

Develop Accurate Citations

Ethical speakers share source information with the audience. On written materials, such as handouts or speech outlines, citations are handled much like they would be in any essay. In addition to written citations, oral citations provide source information to audience members who may not see your written speech. In all citations, enough information should be given so that the audience can easily find the source.

You may choose to briefly describe the author before citing him or her to lend credibility to your supporting information. Writing style guidebooks, such as APA or MLA (Modern Language Association), teach that a source’s credentials are not necessary in the text of your paper. We can interpret that the same is true for providing oral citations in a speech–the author’s occupation, the source website, or the journal name are not required but may be helpful verbal cues to explain the legitimacy of your chosen source. You should provide enough information so that an audience member can locate the source. For instance, it might be useful to describe the doctor as a leading pediatrician–after which you would state the doctor’s last name, year of publication, and the quote or paraphrase. To orally paraphrase a Langer quote (see example poster in Figure 3.1), you might say to your audience:

I really agree with Langer (1989), who wrote in her book Mindfulness, that our world is constructed from the categories we build in our mind. I find that I interpret the world based on my initial understanding of things and have to mindfully force myself to question the categories and biases I’ve formally created in my head. 

Note, the Langer paraphrase provides the author’s last name, year of publication, and the title of the book should an audience member want to find the orally cited source.

Ethical speakers provide written, oral, and visual citations. Visual aids, discussed in Chapter 13, include posters, objects, models, PowerPoints, and handouts. Visual aids are used to enhance your speech message. Visual aids, just like speech content, must be displayed ethically for the audience. In other words, if you use a poster to display a famous quote, then you should cite the author on your poster (see Figure 3.1). Similarly, you should cite sources on your PowerPoint throughout the presentation . It is not sufficient to include a “Sources” or “References” slide at the end of your PowerPoint because that does not accurately link each author to his or her work. Instead, ethical presenters provide an author reference on the slide in which the cited content is shown (see Figure 3.2).

Speakers should also carefully select and correctly cite images displayed in their visual aid. Images should be relevant to the keywords used on your PowerPoint slide. In other words, captions are not necessary because the image can stand alone; images you display should obviously correlate with your speech content (a caption is typically used because the picture needs explanation). In other words, the presence of a caption typically means your image does not directly correspond with the verbal speech material. Images should support, not distract, from the verbal or visual message. Hence, there is no need for blinking, rotating, or otherwise distracting visual aids. [11] Images should be simple and relevant. All pictures should be cited, unless the presenter uses a personal, clipart, or purchased stock image. To cite an image, simply include the credit (or web link) to that picture; note, however, the font size of the link should be reduced so that it is visible to the audience without distracting from the content in your visual aid. Seeing an image link should not be distracting to audience members.

“Question copyright” by Ttog~commonswiki. CC-BY-SA .

It’s also important to understand how copyright law might affect what and how you include information in your speech and on your visual aid. The fair use provision allows for copyrighted information to be shared if it is used for educational benefits, news reporting, research, and in other situations. Nolo explains, “In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and ‘transformative’ purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner.” [12] In order to determine if the use of content falls under the fair use provision, there are four factors to consider:

• How will this be used?
• What is to be used?
• How much will be used?
• What effect does this have? [13]

You can find more about these four factors at the U.S. Copyright website .

Ethical citing includes crediting authors in the text of your written speech materials, acknowledging authors aloud during your speech, and citing images and sources on your visual aid. However, ethics in public speaking encompass more than crediting source material. It’s also necessary to strive for responsible speech goals.

Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar. – David Herbert Lawrence

Set Responsible Speech Goals

Jensen coined the term “rightsabilities” to explain how a communicator must balance tensions between speaker rights and responsibility to others. Ensuring that you have responsible speech goals is one way to achieve ethical communication in public speaking. There are several speech goals that support this mission. This section will focus on five goals: 1) promote diversity, 2) use inclusive language, 3) avoid hate speech, 4) raise social awareness, and 5) employ respectful free speech.

“U.S. Air Force” by Tech. Sgt. Keith Brown. Public domain.

Promote Diversity

One important responsibility speakers have is fostering  diversity, or an appreciation for differences among individuals and groups. Diversity in public speaking is important when considering both your audience and your speech content. Promoting diversity allows audience members who may be different from the speaker to feel included and can present a perspective to which audience members had not previously been exposed. Speakers may choose a speech topic that introduces a multicultural issue to the audience or can promote diversity by choosing language and visual aids that relate to and support listeners of different backgrounds. Because of the diversity present in our lives, it is necessary to consider how speakers can promote diversity.

One simple way of promoting diversity is to use both sexes in your hypothetical examples and to include co-cultural groups when creating a hypothetical situation. For example, you can use names that represent both sexes and that also stem from different cultural backgrounds. In the story about Carley and her co-workers, her co-workers were deliberately given male names so that both sexes were represented. Ethical speakers also encourage diversity in races, socioeconomic status, and other demographics. These choices promote diversity. In addition, ethical speakers can strive to break stereotypes. For instance, if you’re telling a hypothetical story about a top surgeon in the nation, why not make the specialized surgeon a female from a rural area? Or make the hypothetical secretary a man named Frank? You could also include a picture in your visual aid of the female surgeon or the male secretary at work. Ethical speakers should not assume that a nurse is female or that a firefighter is male. Sexist language can alienate your audience from your discussion. [14]

Another way that sexist language occurs in speeches is when certain statements or ideas are directed at a particular sex. For example, the “Selecting a Florist” speech described at the beginning of this chapter may be considered sexist by many audience members. Another example is the following statement, which implies only males might be interested in learning how to fix a car: “I think that fixing a car is one of the most important things you can learn how to do. Am I right, guys?” Promoting diversity is related to using inclusive language, discussed in the following sections.

Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. – Oprah Winfrey

Use Inclusive Language

Avoiding sexist language is one way to use inclusive language. Another important way for speakers to develop responsible language is to use inclusionary pronouns and phrases. For example, novice speakers might tell their audience: “One way for you to get involved in the city’s Clean Community Program is to pick up trash on your street once a month.” Instead, an effective public speaker could exclaim: “One way for all of us to get involved in our local communities is by picking up trash on a regular basis.” This latter statement is an example of “we”  language —pronouns and phrases that unite the speaker to the audience. “We” language (instead of “I” or “You” language) is a simple way to build a connection between the speaker, speech content, and audience. This is especially important during a persuasive speech as “we” language establishes trust, rapport, and goodwill between the speaker and the audience. Take, for example, the following listener relevance statements in a persuasive speech about volunteering:

“You” language: You may say that you’re too busy to volunteer, but I don’t agree. I’m here to tell you that you should be volunteering in your community.

“We” language: As college students, we all get busy in our daily lives and sometimes helpful acts such as volunteering aren’t priorities in our schedules. Let’s explore how we can be more active volunteers in our community.

In this exchange, the “you” language sets the speaker apart from the audience and could make listeners defensive about their time and lack of volunteering. On the other hand, the “we” language connects the speaker to the audience and lets the audience know that the speaker understands and has some ideas for how to fix the problem. This promotes a feeling of inclusiveness, one of the responsible speech goals.

Avoid Hate Speech

Another key aspect of ethical speaking is to develop an awareness of spoken words and the power of words. The NCA Credo of Ethical Communication highlights the importance of this awareness: “We condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence, and through the expression of intolerance and hatred.” [15] Words can be powerful—both in helping you achieve your speech goal and in affecting your audience in significant ways. It is essential that public speakers refrain from hate or sexist language. Hate speech, according to Verderber, Sellnow, and Verderber, “is the use of words and phrases not only to demean another person or group but also to express hatred and prejudice.” [16]  Hate language isolates a particular person or group in a derogatory manner. Michael Richards, famous for the role of Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld , came under fire for his hate speech during a comedy routine in 2006. Richards used several racial epithets and directed his hate language towards African-Americans and Mexicans. [17] Richards apologized for his outbursts, but the damage to his reputation and career was irrevocable. Likewise, using hate speech in any public speaking situation can alienate your audience and take away your credibility, leading to more serious implications for your grade, your job, or other serious outcomes. It is your responsibility as the speaker to be aware of sensitive material and be able to navigate language choices to avoid offending your audience.

No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world. – Robin Williams

Raise Social Awareness

Speakers should consider it their ethical responsibility to educate listeners by introducing ideas of racial, gender, or cultural diversity, but also by raising social awareness , or the recognition of important issues that affect societies. Raising social awareness is a task for ethical speakers because educating peers on important causes empowers others to make a positive change in the world. Many times when you present a speech, you have the opportunity to raise awareness about growing social issues. For example, if you’re asked to present an informative speech to your classmates, you could tell them about your school’s athletic tradition or you could discuss Peace One Day —a campaign that promotes a single day of worldwide cease-fire, allowing crucial food and medicine supplies to be shipped into warzone areas. [18] If your assignment is to present a persuasive speech, you could look at the assignment as an opportunity to convince your classmates to (a) stop texting while they drive, (b) participate in a program that supports US troops by writing personal letters to deployed soldiers or (c) buy a pair of TOMS (tomsshoes.com) and find other ways to provide basic needs to impoverished families around the world. Of course, those are just a few ideas for how an informative or persuasive speech can be used to raise awareness about current social issues. It is your responsibility, as a person and speaker, to share information that provides knowledge or activates your audience toward the common good. [19]

“Raising John T. Williams Memorial Totem Pole” by Joe Mabel. CC-BY-SA .

One way to be successful in attaining your speech goal while also remaining ethical is to consider your audience’s moral base. Moon identifies a principle that allows the speaker to justify his or her perspective by finding common moral ground with the audience. [20] This illustrates to the audience that you have goodwill but allows you to still use your moral base as a guide for responsible speech use. For example, even though you are a vegetarian and believe that killing animals for food is murder, you know that the majority of your audience does not feel the same way. Rather than focusing on this argument, you decide to use Moon’s principle and focus on animal cruelty. By highlighting the inhumane ways that animals are raised for food, you appeal to the audience’s moral frame that abusing animals is wrong—something that you and your audience can both agree upon.

If we lose love and self-respect for each other, this is how we finally die. – Maya Angelou

Employ Respectful Free Speech

We live in a nation that values freedom of speech. Of course, due to the First Amendment, you have the right and ability to voice your opinions and values to an audience. However, that freedom of speech must be balanced with your responsibility as a speaker to respect your audience. Offending or degrading the values of your audience members will not inform or persuade them. For example, let’s say you want to give a persuasive speech on why abortion is morally wrong. It’s your right to voice that opinion. Nevertheless, it’s important that you build your case without offending your audience members— since you don’t know everyone’s history or stance on the subject. Showing disturbing pictures on your visual aid may not “make your point” in the way you intended. Instead, these pictures may send audience members into an emotional tailspin (making it difficult for them to hear your persuasive points because of their own psychological noise). Freedom of speech is a beautiful American value, but ethical speakers must learn to balance their speech freedom with their obligation to respect each audience member.

Fortunately for serious minds, a bias recognized is a bias sterilized. – Benjamin Haydon

• ABC News. (2012, January 25). Albanese accused of plagiarising Hollywood speech. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-25/albanese-accused-ofplagiarising-speech/3793486 ↵
• Cruikshank, B. (2004). Plagiarism: It’s Alive! Texas Library Journal , 80 (4), 132–136. ↵
• Lucas, S. E. (2001). The art of public speaking (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ↵
• Shi, L. (2010). Textual appropriation and citing behaviors of university undergraduates. Applied Linguistics, 31(1), 1–24. ↵
• O’Neill, M. T. (1980). Plagiarism: Writing Responsibly. Business Communication Quarterly , 43 , 34–36. ↵
• Stolley, K., & Brizee, A. (2011, August 24). Avoiding plagiarism. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/ ↵
• Nine Planets. (2011). The Sun. Retrieved from http://nineplanets.org/sol.html ↵
• Rohr, R. (2011). Falling upward: A spirituality for the two halves of life. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass. ↵
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Are you at high risk for serious illness from flu? Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/Features/FluHighRisk/ ↵
• Langer, E. J. (1989). Mindfulness. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. ↵
• Danoff-Burg, J. (2002). PowerPoint writing guide. Retrieved from http://eices.columbia.edu/education-training/see-u/dr/ppt_writing.html ↵
• Nolo. (2010). What is fair use? Copyright and fair use, Stanford University Libraries. Retrieved from http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-a.html ↵
• Harper, G. K. (2007). Copyright Crash Course. Retrieved from http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/copypol2.html ↵
• Driscoll, D. L., & Brizee, A. (2010, July 13). Stereotypes and biased language. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/608/05 ↵
• National Communication Association. (1999). NCA credo for ethical communication. Retrieved from http://www.natcom.org/uploadedFiles/About_NCA/Leadership_and_Governance/Public_Policy_Platform/PDF-PolicyPlatformNCA_Credo_for_Ethical_Communication.pdf ↵
• Verderber, R. F., Sellnow, D. D., & Verderber, K. S. (2012). The challenge of effective speaking (15th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. ↵
• Farhi, P. (2006, November 21). ‘Seinfeld’ comic Richards apologizes for racial rant. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/ ↵
• Peace One Day. (n.d.). Introduction. Retrieved from http://www.peaceoneday.org/en/about/Introduction ↵
• Mill, J.S. (1987). Utilitarianism. In A. Ryan (Ed.), Utilitarianism and other essays (pp. 272 – 338). New York: Penguin Classics. ↵
• Moon, J. D. (1993). Theory, citizenship, and democracy. In G. E. Marcus & R. L. Hanson, Reconsidering the democratic public (pp. 211 – 222). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press. ↵
• Image of boy with book. Authored by : cybrarian77. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/cybrarian77/6284177707/in/photostream/ . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Chapter 3 Ethical Speaking. Authored by : Alyssa Millner and Rachel Price. Provided by : King College and University of Kentucky. Located at : http://publicspeakingproject.org/psvirtualtext.html . Project : Public Speaking Project. License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• ME 109 Thief. Authored by : Nina Paley. Located at : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ME_109_Thief.png . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• RainbowDhalia quilt. Authored by : Holice E. Turnbow. Located at : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RainbowDhalia_quilt.jpg . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Question copyright. Authored by : Stephan Baum and ttog. Located at : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_copyright.svg . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Raising John T. Williams Memorial Totem Pole 300. Authored by : Joe Mabel. Located at : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raising_John_T._Williams_Memorial_Totem_Pole_300.jpg . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• F-15 pilots Elmendorf. Authored by : Tech. Sgt. Keith Brown. Provided by : US Air Force. Located at : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:F-15_pilots_Elmendorf.jpg . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

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Chapter 2: Ethics in Public Speaking

This chapter, except where otherwise noted, is adapted from  Stand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking ,  CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 .

What are the objectives of ethical speaking?

Now that you’ve learned the foundations of public speaking, you know that creating a speech involves more than just slapping some facts together and hoping your audience listens. In this module, we move on to explore a core element of public speaking: the importance of ethical communication. We’ve all heard advertisers, received a sales pitch, and listened to politicians who try and persuade us to take some action. But how do we know these are ethical communications? Speechmakers may manipulate facts, present one-sided arguments, and even lie to persuade their audience. And the audience may be fooled if they are not listening critically. None of these actions involve ethical communication. When speakers do not speak ethically, they taken advantage of their audience. When an audience does not listen critically, they disrespect the speaker.

In this module, we will explore what it means to be both an ethical speaker and an ethical listener. You can ethically and effectively persuade. And you can take responsibility to be ethically informed. We will show you how.

Ethical Speaking

Every day, people around the world make ethical decisions regarding public speech, for example, is it ever appropriate to lie if it’s in a group’s best interest? Should you use evidence to support your speech’s core argument when you are not sure if the evidence is correct? Should you refuse to listen to a speaker with whom you fundamentally disagree? These three examples represent ethical choices that speakers and listeners face in the public speaking context. To help you understand the issues involved with thinking about ethics, we begin this module by presenting an ethical communications model, known as the ethics pyramid. We will then show how you can apply the National Communication Association’s (NCA) Credo for Ethical Communication to public speaking. We will conclude with a general free speech discussion.

The Ethics Pyramid

One way to talk about ethics is to use the ethics pyramid. What is the ethics pyramid?

Elspeth Tilley, a public communication ethics expert from Massey University, proposes a structured approach to thinking about ethics (Tilley, 2005). Her ethics pyramid involves three basic concepts: intent, means, and ends.

According to Tilley, intent is the first major concept to consider when examining an issue’s ethicality. To be an ethical speaker or listener, it is important to begin with ethical intentions. For example, if we agree that honesty is ethical, it follows that ethical speakers will prepare their remarks with the intent to tell the truth to their audiences. Similarly, if we agree that it is ethical to listen with an open mind, it follows that ethical listeners will intend to hear a speaker’s case before forming judgments.

Many professional organizations, including the Independent Computer Consultants Association, American Counseling Association, and American Society of Home Inspectors, have codes of conduct or ethical guidelines for their members. Individual corporations such as Monsanto, Coca-Cola, Intel, and ConocoPhillips also have ethical guidelines for how their employees should interact with suppliers or clients.

It is important to be aware that people can unintentionally engage in unethical behavior. For example, suppose we agree that it is unethical to take someone else’s words and pass them off as your own—a behavior known as plagiarism. What happens if a speaker makes a statement that he believes he thought of on his own, but the statement is actually quoted from a radio commentator whom he heard without clearly remembering doing so? The plagiarism is unintentional, but does that make it ethical?

Tilley describes the means you use to communicate with others as the ethics pyramid’s second concept. According to McCroskey, Wrench, and Richmond, “means are the tools or behaviors we employ to achieve a desired outcome” (McCroskey, Wrench, & Richmond, 2003). Some means are good and some bad.

For example, suppose you want your friend Marty to spend an hour reviewing your speech. What means might you use to persuade Marty to do you this favor? You might explain to Marty’s that you value his opinion and will gladly return the favor when Marty prepares his speech (good means), or you might inform Marty that you’ll tell his professor that he cheated on a test (bad means). While both of these means may lead to the same end—Marty agrees to review your speech—one is clearly more ethical than the other.

Ends is the ethics pyramid s third concept. According to McCroskey, Wrench, and Richmond (McCroskey, Wrench, & Richmond, 2003), “ends are those outcomes that you desire to achieve.” Ends might include the following:

• Persuading your audience to make a financial contribution for you to participate in Relay for Life.
• Persuading a group of homeowners that your real estate agency would best meet their needs.
• Informing your fellow students about newly required university fees.

Whereas the means are the behavioral choices we make, the ends are the results of those choices.

Like intent and means, ends can be good or bad. For example, suppose a city council wants to balance the city’s annual budget. Balancing the budget may be a good end, assuming that the city has adequate tax revenues and some discretionary spending for city services. However, voters might argue that balancing the budget is a bad end if the city lacks the tax revenue and must raise taxes or cut essential city services, or both, to do so.

What are the guidelines for ethical speaking?

Steven Lucas, a well-known speech instructor, put together five helpful guidelines to ensure ethical speechmaking (Lucas, 2012, pp. 31-35).

• Make sure your goals are ethically sound. Are you asking your audience to do something you yourself do not believe in, do not think is good for the audience, or would not do yourself?
• Be fully prepared for each speech. Don’t cheat the audience by just winging it. If you calculate the money each person in your audience makes during the time you speak, do you want to waste that much of their time and money? As speakers we have a solemn responsibility to make that time worthwhile.
• Be honest in what you say. Speechmaking rests on the assumption that words can be trusted and that people will be truthful. Without this assumption, there is no basis for communication and no reason for one person to believe anything that another person says.
• Avoid name-calling and other forms of abusive language. Names leave psychological scars that last for years. Name-calling defames, demeans, or degrades. These words dehumanize people, all of whom should be treated with dignity and respect.
• Put ethical principles into practice. Being ethical means behaving ethically all the time—not only when it’s convenient (Lucas, 2012, pp.34-35).

Your audience is watching you even when you are not speechmaking. If you try to be honest in your speeches, yet an audience member observes you lying to a classmate, what does that do to your credibility as an ethical speaker? Something to consider.

A Speaker’s Ethical Obligation

According to Lucas, “Name-calling and abusive language pose ethical problems in public speaking when they are used to silence opposing voices. A democratic society depends upon open expression of ideas. In the United States, all citizens have the right to join in democracy’s never-ending dialogue. As a public speaker, you have an ethical obligation to help preserve that right by avoiding tactics such as name-calling, which inherently impugn the accuracy or respectability of public statements made by groups or individual who voice opinions different from yours.

“The obligation is the same whether you are black or white, Christian or Muslim, male or female, gay or straight, liberal or conservative. A pro-union public employee who castigated everyone opposed to her ideas as an “enemy of the middle class” is unethical. A politician who labels all his adversaries “tax-and-spend liberals” is unethical. Although name-calling can be hazardous to free speech, it is still protected under the Bill of Right’s free-speech clause.

Nevertheless, it will not alter the ethical responsibility of public speakers on or off campus to avoid name-calling and other kinds of abusive language” (Lucas, 2012, pp.34-35).

Important Ethical Principles

The largest communication organization in the United States and second largest in the world created an ethical credo outlining important principles to follow if we want to be ethical communicators. Notice how they indicate that ethical speaking takes courage.

National Communication Association Credo for Ethical Communication

Questions of right and wrong arise whenever people communicate. Ethical communication is fundamental to responsible thinking, decision making, and the development of relationships and communities within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and media. Moreover, ethical communication enhances human worth and dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personal integrity, and respect for self and others. We believe that unethical communication threatens the quality of all communication and consequently the well-being of individuals and the society in which we live. Therefore we, the members of the National Communication Association, endorse and are committed to practicing the following principles of ethical communication:

• We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication.
• We endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to achieve the informed and responsible decision making fundamental to a civil society.
• We strive to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their messages.
• We promote access to communication resources and opportunities as necessary to fulfill human potential and contribute to the well-being of families, communities, and society.
• We promote communication climates of caring and mutual understanding that respect the unique needs and characteristics of individual communicators.
• We condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence, and through the expression of intolerance and hatred.
• We are committed to the courageous expression of personal convictions in pursuit of fairness and justice.
• We advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings when facing significant choices while also respecting privacy and confidentiality.
• We accept responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences of our own communication and expect the same of others.

Source: National Communication Association

Applying Ethical Principles

Use reason and logical arguments. While there are cases where speakers have blatantly lied to an audience, it is more common for speakers to prove a point by exaggerating, omitting facts that weigh against their message, or distorting information. We believe that speakers build a relationship with their audiences, and that lying, exaggerating, or distorting information violates this relationship. Ultimately, a speaker will be more persuasive by using reason and logical arguments.

Choose objective sources. It is also important to be honest about where you get your information. As speakers, examine your sources and research and determine whether they are biased or have hidden agendas. For example, you are not likely to get accurate information about nonwhite individuals from a neo-Nazi website. While you may not know all your sources firsthand, you should attempt to find objective sources that do not have an overt or covert agenda that skews the argument you are making.

Don’t plagiarize. Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving credit is called plagiarism. The word “plagiarism” stems from the Latin word plagiaries, or kidnapper. The consequences for failing to cite sources during public speeches can be substantial. When Senator Joseph Biden was running for president of the United States in 1988, reporters found that he had plagiarized portions of his stump speech from British politician Neil Kinnock. Biden was forced to drop out of the race as a result. More recently, the student newspaper at Malone University in Ohio alleged that university president, Gary W. Streit, had plagiarized material in a public speech. Streit retired abruptly as a result.

Cite your sources. Even if you are not running for president of the United States or serving as a college president, citing sources is important to you as a student. Many universities have policies that include dismissing students from the institution for plagiarizing academic work, including public speeches. Failing to cite your sources might result, at best, in lowering your credibility with your audience and, at worst, in a failing course grade or school expulsion.

Speakers tend to fall into one of three major traps regarding plagiarism.

• The first trap is failing to tell the audience the source of a direct quotation.
• The second trap is paraphrasing what someone else said or wrote without giving credit to the speaker or author. For example, you may have read a book and learned that there are three types of schoolyard bullying. In the middle of your speech, you talk about those three types of bullying. If you do not tell your audience where you found that information, you are plagiarizing.
• The third trap that speakers fall into is re-citing someone else’s sources within a speech. To explain this problem, let’s look at a brief segment from a research paper written by Wrench, DiMartino, Ramirez, Oviedio, and Tesfamariam:

“The main character on the hit Fox television show  House , Dr. Gregory House, has one basic mantra, “It’s a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what” (Shore & Barclay, 2005). This notion that “everybody lies” is so persistent in the series that t-shirts have been printed with the slogan. Surprisingly, research has shown that most people do lie during interpersonal interactions to some degree. In a study conducted by Turner, Edgley, and Olmstead (1975), the researchers had 130 participants record their own conversations with others. After recording these conversations, the participants then examined the truthfulness of the statements within the interactions. Only 38.5% of the statements made during these interactions were labeled as “completely honest.”  

In this example, we see that the authors of this paragraph cited information from two external sources: Shore and Barclay and Tummer, Edgley, and Olmstead. These two groups of authors are given credit for their ideas. The authors make it clear that they did not produce the television show  House  or conduct the study that found that only 38.5 percent of statements were completely honest. Instead, these authors cited information found in two other locations. This type of citation is appropriate.

However, if a speaker read the paragraph and said the following during a speech, it would be plagiarism:

“According to Wrench DiMartino, Ramirez, Oviedio, and Tesfamariam, in a study of 130 participants, only 38.5 percent of the responses were completely honest.”

In this case, the speaker is attributing the information cited to the authors of the paragraph, which is not accurate. If you want to cite the information within your speech, you need to read the original article by Turner, Edgley, and Olmstead and cite that information yourself.

There are two main reasons we do this.

• First, Wrench, DiMartino, Ramirez, Oviedio, and Tesfamariam may have mistyped the information. Suppose the study by Turner, Edgley, and Olstead really actually found that 58.5 percent of the responses were completely honest. If you cited the revised number (38.5 percent) from the paragraph, you would be further spreading incorrect information.
• The second reason we do not re-cite someone else’s sources within our speeches is because it’s intellectually dishonest. You owe your listeners an honest description of where the facts you are relating came from, not just the name of an author who cited those facts. It is more work to trace the original source of a fact or statistic, but by doing that extra work you can avoid this plagiarism trap.

The Difference Between Global, Patchwork, and Incremental Plagiarism

This section is adapted from The Art of Public Speaking by Stephen E Lucas.

Global plagiarism: Stealing speech entirely from a single source and passing it off as your own. Maybe you go online and find a speech, or you use the speech your spouse created for her speech class. These are both examples of global plagiarism.

Patchwork plagiarism: Stealing ideas from two or more sources and passing them off as your own. You cut and paste information from one source, then another, then another and patch them together to make your speech, but you don’t cite each source within your speech.

Incremental plagiarism: Failing to give credit for particular parts of a speech that are borrowed from other people. In global and patchwork plagiarism, the entire speech is cribbed more or less verbatim from a single source or a few sources. But incremental plagiarism occurs when you borrow particular parts or increments from other people, quotes, or phrases to make your speech, and you don’t give credit. For example:

Whenever you quote someone directly, you must attribute the words to that person.

Scientist Roberts said, “Rocks also contain remnants of their electromagnetic information.”

Whenever you summarize or paraphrase someone else’s words or ideas you must attribute it to that person.

According to historian Belford, we are on the brink of a new era.

Now you have clearly identified Roberts and Belford and given them credit for their words, rather than presenting them as your own.

Ethically, we need to talk about your captive audience.

Captive Audiences

“Captive audience doctrine posits a situation in which the listener has no choice but to hear the undesired speech. This lack of choice has a strong spatial component to it: indeed, the classic example of a captive audience is being the target of residential picketing” (William, 2003, p. 400). For example, if picketers come to your neighborhood to picket the coming of a large store chain in a residential area, their speeches, yelling and propaganda can be heard in your home. They have entered your space and it doesn’t matter that you need quiet to put your little one down for a nap or you don’t agree with the picketer’s message, your are forced to listen because they are in your space.

“Defenders of sexual harassment law argue that employees’ need to earn a living makes the workplace a context where an employee should not be forced to listen to undesired speech” (William, 2003, p.404).

“In the case of the internet, it could be argued that the inability to filter out undesirable speech creates an unacceptable dilemma for a would-be user: use the internet and subject yourself to the risk of encountering such speech, or abstain altogether from using the medium (William, 2003, p. 404).

If we take this captive audience idea to our classroom, how does it apply? We are asking you to listen to at least two of your fellow students’ speeches as part of your grade. You don’t know if you will hear something offensive or something you don’t want to hear.

Knowing that others are required to hear your speech, implies that you are responsible for creating a speech that takes your “captive audience” into account and that you do not abuse the privilege. What does this mean to you when preparing a speech?

Topic Choice

Does this mean you cannot choose a controversial topic? You may choose a controversial topic. We will walk you through how to do that and still respect your audience.

Word Choice

Does this mean you can choose any words you want? Gone are the days when “sticks and stone could break our bones but words could never hurt us.” Words carry meaning and the ability to harm and alienate our audience. We will walk you through how to compose your speech to draw your audience in so they will want to hear more.

Visual Aids

Does this mean you can choose any visual aids you want? Visual images can be powerful ways to communicate your meaning if chosen well. They can also be damaging if not chosen well. We will walk you through how to choose your visual aids.

Gestures and Non-Verbal Delivery

Does this mean you can use any non-verbal delivery you want? More than 75 percent of our communication is non-verbal. It has a powerful effect on our audience. We will help you choose your non-verbal delivery so it will enhance your speech.

Captive Audience Outside of Class

Does this mean that you can speak to a captive audience any way you want outside of class? Outside of class, speakers still have a responsibility to respect their captive-audience privilege and to speak and use it ethically. We’ll talk about how.

The First Amendment and Free Speech

Some speakers feel that they can talk about anything they want, to anyone they want, in anyway they want because their speech is protected under the First Amendment, allowing them to behave in the following ways:

• Be foul mouthed.
• Use destructive topics.
• Use naked visual aids.
• Tell their audience how much they should despise their neighbors.

These speakers feel the First Amendment gives them the freedom of any kind of speech. Do you know if this is true?

Speech Covered Under the First Amendment

Disputes over the meaning and scope of the First Amendment arise almost daily in connection with issues such as terrorism, pornography, and hate speech.

There are some kinds of speech that are not protected under the First Amendment, including the following:

• Defamatory falsehoods that destroy a person’s reputation.
• Threats against the life of the President.
• Inciting an audience to illegal action in circumstances where the audience is likely to carry out the action.

Otherwise, the Supreme Court has held—and most ethics communication experts have agreed—that public speakers have an almost unlimited right of free expression.

While free speech allows for much individual expression, you have learned that there are ethical guidelines for public speaking. But did you know there are ethical guidelines for listening as well?

It is surprising to see that adults, in a sedate context, set a poor example and forget their ethical listening manners. See if you can hear them in the video, GOP Rep. to Obama: “You lie!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sipHTEARyYo

GOP Rep to Obama You Lie! , by  Communication 1020 Videso , Standard YouTube License. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sipHTEARyYo

There is a time for debate, disagreement, and protest. However, ethical listening takes into account the following:

• What is appropriate for the context.
• The implications of an outburst.

Lucas gives us clear information about ethical listening in his list.

Guidelines for Ethical Listening

• Be courteous and attentive. The speaker has put a lot of work into the speech. It is surprising how often student audience members think it is ok to look at their phones, newspapers, work on homework, or even leave the room during a speech. These are all unethical listening behaviors and should be avoided.
• Avoid prejudging the speaker. It is easy to see what a speaker is wearing, their accent, or even word choice and to prejudge their message. This doesn’t mean you need to agree with everything a speaker has to say, but you might be surprised what you will learn if you attentively listen to the full speech with an open mind.
• Maintain the free and open expression of ideas. Just as the speaker needs to avoid name-calling and tactics that shut down free speech, listeners have an obligation to maintain the speaker’s right to be heard. You don’t need to agree with the speaker.

Lucas, S.E. (2014). The Art of Public Speaking (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

University of Minnesota. (2011). Stand up, Speak out: The Practice and Ethics of Public Speaking . University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/ . CC BY-SA 4.0.

William, D. A. (2003). Captive audiences, children and the internet. Brandeis Law Journal 41, 397-415

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Communication 1020 Videso. (2021, November 9). GOP Rep to Obama You Lie! Source [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sipHTEARyYo

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Public Speaking Copyright © 2022 by Sarah Billington and Shirene McKay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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• Speech On Ethics And Etiquette [1,2,3 Minutes]

The word “Ethics” is derived from the Greek word “ethos”, which means “the way of living”. Generally, ethics helps us understand what is right and what is wrong in human conduct. It tells us about how should a person behave be it casual or official.

In this article, we shared some examples of short and long speeches on ethics and etiquette. This post will help you to prepare for public speaking on the same topic.

1 Minute Speech On Ethics

Hello and welcome all of you gathered here. I am here to present a speech on ethics.

“Ethics” is a set of rules which describes the right and wrong conduct of human behaviour. It’s our behaviour which creates a distinction between an animal and a human. If you act like an animal, you will not get good respect in society. Hence, ethics holds a significant place in human society.

No one wants to be treated in a wrong way be it a person, an animal or our environment. This is why ethics is important in every aspect of life. For example; if you are a customer and a business provides you with a product that satisfies value for money, it means the business is doing the right thing. This is called business ethics.

The most influential personalities of the past and present have a common characteristic. They all follow ethics. So, if you also want to stand out in your group, improve your ethics. Thank you!

2-Minute Speech On Ethics And Etiquette

I cordially welcome all of you gathered here. I am here to deliver a speech on ethics and etiquette. Before I start my speech, I would like to wish you a good day. Also, I want to thank you for having me this valuable opportunity.

Ethics are rules which describe the right and wrong conduct of a human. The right human conduct is called ethical behaviour and wrongful conduct is called unethical. Furthermore, ethics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the issue of morality.

And, etiquette refers to the polite behaviour of an individual towards other individuals. Someone has rightly said, “treat others the way you want yourself to be treated”. Hence, if you want to be treated well in society, you must incorporate etiquette in life.

So, ethics and etiquette are a combination of good manners , good values and acceptable social human conduct. By following these two principles, one can develop an extraordinary personality. This kind of personality is loved and respected wherever he goes.

Ethics and etiquette are the most amiable qualities to win people’s trust and hearts. Without these, one can not climb the ladder to success. Most importantly, ethics and etiquette are not tools to satisfy your ego. These are methods to lead all of us to a better way of living and build a better society.

This way we will experience the highest possible pleasure on our planet. This is all I wanted to say. I hope you like my words. Thank you!

3-Minute Speech Ethics And Etiquette

“A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world”. This is one of my favourite quotes which describes the importance of ethics in just a few words.

Good morning! All of you. Before heading ahead to my speech on ethics and its importance. I would like to wish you all the best wishes and also want to pay thanks for having me this valuable opportunity.

“Ethics” are principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. Our ethics and values determine our personality and affect our actions. A person with socially accepted ethics is valued and respected in society.

More importantly, ethics can be very personal beliefs. For example; one considers being vegetarian right conduct while another considers being non-vegetarian. Hence, What is ethically right for one person may not be right for another.

If we talk about “Etiquette” it refers to the customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or group. In short, etiquette is a tiny part of good manners. Everyone likes a person who shows good manners. Don’t you?

It is human nature to like someone who treats everyone with love and respect. etiquette comprises many practices such as saying “Sorry” or “Thank you”, wishing others, listening carefully before speaking, making selfless talks etc. Apart from this, etiquette assists us to enhance our personality and offers a good position in society.

These two “ E ‘s” i.e. Ethics and Etiquette can introduce you to the real meaning of being a human. When you incorporate these two qualities in you, it not only helps you in your personality development but also influences other people in society. Moreover, you inspire others to be ethical and moral.

To sum it up, ethics and etiquette are two of the most important requirements of humanity. Without these, the world would have been an evil and chaotic place. The progress humanity witnessed in the past is a result of the involvement of ethics and etiquette.

There is a lot to say but I will stop my speech here. Thank you! I hope you liked my thoughts.

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• 2 Minute Speech On Child Labour
• 1 Minute Speech On Child Labour
• Speech On Nature [ 1-2 minutes ]
• 2 Minute Speech on Importance Of Education
• 1 Minute Speech on Pollution
• 2 Minute Speech on Population Explosion

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Speech in the Workplace Q&A

An Explanatory Statement of the ALA Code of Ethics

This document is intended to provide general guidance for employees, administrators, governing authorities and volunteers of libraries of all types regarding common questions about Speech in the Workplace, and is not intended as a comprehensive list of requirements or legal advice. Legal counsel should be consulted for definitive guidance and for the approval of policy statements. All libraries should have board or administration approved policies addressing speech in the workplace. It is the responsibility of all employees to be aware of and adhere to such policies. Employees should use professional judgement regarding speech in the workplace, including via social media platforms.

1) Since libraries have a special responsibility to protect intellectual freedom and freedom of expression, do libraries have a special responsibility to be workplaces that tolerate employee expression more than other professional settings?

Libraries play a special role in ensuring the free flow of information in a democratic society. Librarians and library workers are often called on to fight censorship and resist efforts to restrict individuals from receiving information and expressing ideas. We need to demonstrate our commitment to free speech by encouraging it in the workplace.

It is the responsibility of the employer to have clear policies and procedures regarding expressions of viewpoints not necessarily in line with the employer, and it is the employee’s responsibility to be familiar with these policies and procedures.

Libraries are encouraged to adopt ALA policy B.9.21 on Workplace Speech . “Libraries should encourage discussion among library workers, including library administrators, of non-confidential professional and policy matters about the operation of the library and matters of public concern within the framework of applicable laws.” This does not provide full legal protection for employees but does help promote free speech in the workplace.

2) What are some examples of speech or expression that might be included in my employer’s workplace speech policies?

Speech may include more than just verbal statements. Speech may also include but not be limited to buttons, t-shirt slogans, posters, stickers or trending symbols of political or social activism.

3) What about questions of library policy? Do I have free speech rights to speak on internal library matters?

Since the relationship between employee and employer is a contractual one, employee speech is governed by the employment contract, not the First Amendment. The speech environment in a library as a workplace may vary according to the organizational hierarchy and an employee’s place in it, the organizational culture, and the personalities that make up that culture. If you are a member of a union, check your union contract to see if it offers any protection. If you are a librarian who has tenure or an arrangement similar to tenure, check your tenure or reappointment documents.

4) Is there a difference if I work in a non-public, non-governmental institution library (parochial or corporate)?

It is your obligation to know the policies regarding what you are permitted to say professionally in that setting and to find out if there are restrictions within that setting on what you say in the workplace. It is also your obligation to know what you’re allowed to say personally. In some private settings referring to a same sex partner has been grounds for termination.

5) Is there an ethical obligation to raise questions and initiate change about policies I believe to be detrimental to the public interest or to the profession?

The first tenet of the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association begins “we provide the highest level of service to all library users...” Examples of possible conflicts between your vision of highest level of service and your employer’s could include: you are an academic librarian who disagrees with your university’s lack of privacy policy for electronic resources; you are a children’s librarian who disagrees with your library’s policy of fines for children; you are a library director and your trustees disagree with your stance on filtering, or you are a school librarian and your administrator wants you to violate student privacy by sending overdue lists to teachers. In these and other situations, you should and probably will feel an ethical obligation as a professional to speak out and make your library values known. You will have to use your professional judgment as to when and how to do so, and you must be prepared to accept any potential consequences.

Also keep in mind that Article V of the ALA Code of Ethics states, “we treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions.” Article VIII states, “we strive for excellence in the profession by … encouraging the professional development of co-workers… .”

6) Does the First Amendment apply to workplace speech?

Through the Library Bill of Rights and its Interpretations , the American Library Association supports freedom of expression and the First Amendment in the strongest possible terms. The freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment, however, has traditionally not been thought to apply to employee speech in the workplace. The doctrine of “employment at will” (applicable in most states) has meant that just as employees may resign at any time, so too may employers dismiss employees at any time unless the dismissal is for a prohibited reason like discrimination. Some employers may believe that if employees were given full rights to free speech on work related issues, loyalty and discipline would be weakened and the coordination needed for the effective and efficient functioning of bureaucracies would dissolve.

7) Does this mean I have no free speech rights as an employee?

Because the First Amendment only protects individuals against government infringements upon free speech rights, First Amendment protections for speech activities in the workplace are generally not available to employees of private companies or institutions. As one court explained, "the First Amendment free speech provision fails to establish public policy against terminations by private employers for speech-related activities because this provision applies only to government actions and expresses no public policy regarding terminations by private employers." Grinzi v. San Diego Hospice Corp. , 120 Cal. App. 4th 72, 79 (2004) ; see also George v. Pacific-CSC Work Furlough , 91 F.3d 1227 (1996) .

If you are a government employee, your speech activities in the workplace may enjoy limited protection under the First Amendment. In Pickering v. Board of Ed . 391 U.S. 563 (1968) the Supreme Court crafted a balancing test intended to protect the constitutional rights of an employee speaking as a citizen on matters of public concern while preserving the government employer's interest in ensuring that its employees do not undermine its operations or interfere with accomplishment of its objectives. In brief, if your speech addresses a matter of public concern, and it does not interfere with your employer's ability to provide public services or impair discipline or harmony in the workplace, the courts may side with you. Note, however, that the courts often give great deference to an employer's conclusion that an employee's speech has been disruptive or damaging.

In 2006, the Supreme Court clarified its decision in Pickering. In Garcetti v. Ceballos , 547 U.S. 410 (2006) , the Supreme Court held that public employees who make statements pursuant to their official duties are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes and may be disciplined by their employer for that speech.

8) What about “whistleblowing”?

Whistleblowing is “the disclosure by a person, usually an employee in a government agency or private enterprise, to the public or to those in authority, of mismanagement, corruption, illegality, or some other wrongdoing.” There are federal and state statutes to protect employees from retaliation for disclosing certain kinds of employer misconduct, like fraud, abuse, waste, or the violation of a law, rule, or regulation. However, these protections only go so far.

9) What are some issues to consider when speaking out on a library policy matter?

Try to know all the facts on the issue and attempt to understand it from your employer’s point of view. Consult with your colleagues. Do your colleagues agree with you or are you alone? Can you build support among your colleagues for your position? Can you get others to raise the issue for you or can you do so anonymously? Will it be possible to work from within for change? If your convictions are strong enough, are you willing to resign? Is the issue important enough to you to risk disciplinary action? Assess your place in the hierarchy and know your workplace culture. If you are in a union you may be protected by your union contract. A tenured librarian may have more freedom to speak out than a new librarian. Library directors may be expected to make their views known to their trustees. Your boss may be more receptive to criticism at certain times than others. Some bosses may be open to disagreement in private but not in staff meetings. Some may prefer a verbal conversation to a written memo. You will have to exercise your own professional judgment in assessing your workplace environment.

10) If I speak out in the workplace on a matter of professional policy, and my employer takes action against me, will the ALA support me?

The ALA does not provide mediation, financial aid, or legal aid in response to workplace disputes. Your employer has an array of sanctions that may or may not be imposed on you, including but not limited to: reassignment, passing you up for promotion, passing you up for raises, denying you tenure, passing you up for the best assignments, and ultimately dismissal. If you decide to speak out on a matter involving professional policy, it will be a matter between you and your employer. The ALA does administer the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund , which has provided financial assistance for librarians who have been discriminated against or denied employment rights because of their defense of intellectual freedom including freedom of speech. Some state library associations offer professional liability insurance for members that can help with reimbursement of legal fees related to termination. Check with your state association to see if this is available to you.

(See the Enforcement of the Code of Ethics Q&A for a history of past efforts related to mediation.)

11) Can I be disciplined for workplace-related comments on social media?

In some recent decisions, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that employers cannot discipline employees for certain work-related conversations conducted on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. In each case, the NLRB found that employees' posted comments about their workplace were "protected concerted activity" under the National Labor Relations Act because the employees were engaged in conversations discussing the terms and conditions of their employment. Such protections are limited, however, and do not extend to posts or conversations that are unrelated to workplace conditions.

Personal and professional viewpoints need to be kept separate. Care must be taken before expressing personal views on organizational platforms. You should not identify your workplace as part of your personal pages to ensure there is no confusing your personal viewpoint with your professional one.

Article VI of the Code of Ethics states “We do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions.” Article VII states “We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.”

Both statements address a separation between private/personal and public/professional. However, library workers are often recognized beyond their libraries as community helpers and leaders, and what they post on their personal social media accounts may be associated with their professional position regardless of their intention. Harvard Business Review and Queens University of Charlotte provide methods to separate personal and professional identities on social media.

Library workers should use professional judgment when conducting themselves in public, even in their leisure time, which extends to social media use. Reputations, both personally and professionally, can be at stake. The American Institute of CPAs provides tips for staying professional on social media.

Discussion of professional issues and public documents on social media does not fall within the NLRB definition of workplace-related comments.

12) Where can I find more information?

Questions about speech in the workplace can be directed to the Committee on Professional Ethics c/o the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom by phone at (312) 280-4226 or by email at [email protected] .

Suggested Links/Resources:

The National Whistleblower Center (NWC), a non-profit, tax-exempt, non-partisan organization, is the leading whistleblower legal advocacy organization with an almost 30-year history of protecting the right of individuals to report wrongdoing without fear of retaliation.

OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program enforces the whistleblower provisions of more than twenty whistleblower statutes protecting employees who report violations of various workplace safety and health, airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health insurance reform, motor vehicle safety, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime, and securities laws. Rights afforded by these whistleblower protection laws include, but are not limited to, worker participation in safety and health activities, reporting a work-related injury, illness or fatality, or reporting a violation of the statutes herein.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Federal Laws prohibit workplace discrimination and are enforced by EEOC . These are passed by Congress and signed by the President.

Adopted by the Committee on Professional Ethics, July 2001; Amended January 2004, June 26, 2006, January 24, 2007, July 1, 2014; and amended April 30, 2019.

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