A principle is a fundamental truth, or proposition that serves as a foundation. Two words can sum up the principle audience-centered public speakers need to build every speech on. Speak ethically.
Let's discuss what it means to speak ethically. We will break this important overarching principle down into six principles public speakers need to live by. Principle number one, have a clear responsible goal.
If you're thinking about your audience as you prepare to give your presentation, your focus is on what is best for the listeners, not yourself. Of course, you could have a goal to trick your audience or manipulate them in some way. But ask yourself, is that what you would want to have done to you?
So, if you are there to persuade, never be afraid to let your listeners know this in a clear and yet considerate way. Principle number two. Use sound evidence and reasoning. Public speaking should always be more than just getting up and telling others what you think you know about a subject.
That may be a new way of thinking about presentations for some. So think about that for a second. Public speaking carries with it the responsibility to give accurate information, whether informing or persuading. So, gather sound evidence from quality sources that provide support for your main points. The evidence might be a quote from an expert, a clear statistic, or a reference to a study.
The point is that evidence is presented. You're not up there just saying, here's what I think to be true. So believe it.
Also, you need reasoning. Reasoning is where you take the sound evidence you have gathered and shared, and then you explain this to your listeners so that it will support your points. It is you talking about the evidence.
Your sub-points are where you will share your evidence and your reasoning. Principle number three, be sensitive and tolerant. Most likely, every time you speak, there are listeners in your audience that will have a different viewpoint than the one that you will present. You will see the information that you're presenting through the lens of your own experience and cultural background. Remember the concept of always considering the audience.
And here's an important area of application. Before you present your information, ask yourself if you're using words, examples, or ways of presenting that might offend someone or several people in your audience. You might be speaking on... trade agreements and mention China, only to look up and realize that you have a Chinese classmate that was just offended by your North American nationalistic approach to discussing trade agreements. It's not about not discussing a topic.
It's about caring about the audience first and trying to keep people listening instead of shutting down in the middle of your presentation. Principle 4. Be honest. There is nothing more destructive to your credibility as a public speaker than having your audience find out that you've misled them, or out-and-out lied to them. Why would they ever listen to you again? Your examples should always be true, and if you use a hypothetical example, let the audience know this by using words like, Imagine with me for a moment.
Principle 5. Don't plagiarize. Of course, you should never copy an entire speech and then present it as your own without full disclosure that what you're doing is presenting a famous speech originally given by another person. And you should never use quotes, phrases, or even ideas without giving the proper acknowledgement. In a speech, that's called an oral citation. Providing an oral citation is the same as providing an in-text citation as if when you write a formal academic paper.
The consequences for plagiarism are often severe, whether it's a school setting or a congressperson giving a speech to the House of Representatives. The key... is to do your own writing and give plenty of correctly composed oral citations. Principle 6. Speak credibly.
I tell public speaking students that in your introduction, you should let your listeners know why you can speak on this topic. And what I'm saying is to tell the audience why you are a person who can be considered a credible representative of this topic. Speaking...
Speaking credibly means that you should be competent and knowledgeable. You've studied enough to really know your subject. That you present yourself as a dynamic presenter, meaning that you share the information confidently and with believability.
And last, that you are trustworthy. This last credibility quality is important. Put another way, trustworthy means that you have the audience's best interests at heart, and they can tell it. A principle is a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as a foundation.
An audience-centered public speaker is a principled and ethical speaker. Build your career as a public speaker on being ethical. See you in the next video.