Is the speech moral or immoral, fair or unfair, honest or dishonest? Being ethical in speaking is an important and controversial issue. Ethics is important to public speaking for many reasons, such as, credibility, appropriate language, being prepared, being accountable, etc.
             Always tell the truth when giving a speech, whether it is public or private. Eventually the audience will find out the truth, and the next time you give a speech no one will believe what you are speaking about, whether it is true or not. Don't distort the truth just to make it better suit your purpose. Avoid stealing the ideas of others and presenting them as your own, plagiarism. Plagiarism is not only unethical but it is illegal. Give credit where credit is due.
             In the current presidential race, John Kerry has said, "I've met foreign leaders who can't go out and say this publicly, but boy, they look at you and say, 'You've got to win; you've got to beat this guy. We need a new policy." Shortly after making this statement it was found that Kerry has not meet with any foreign leaders. When asked to name the foreign leader who is backing Kerry up, Kerry refused to name names. Lies and not being capable of showing facts on statements may hurt Kerry in the presidential election. Who wants a president who cant tell the truth even on the simplest subjects?
             The choice of words in a speech may affect your speech and your audience. You don't want to offend your audience by saying something that may insult their personal beliefs or using fowl language.
             Howard Stern has to be the most popular talk radio speakers in the world. He exploits women, offends people who are not what most people would call "normal", uses fowl language, and so on. On a January 23rd show stern stated, "It's fun to humiliate women." Many television stations dropped Sterns show due to the fact of his unethical ways.
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