LESSON 3: Communication Ethics
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.
-National Communication Association credo
COMMUNICATION ETHICS
A. The Nature of Ethics
The word ethics is derived from a Greek word ethos, meaning character. Being ethical
means doing what is right to achieve what is good. In communication, what is right
refers to the responsibility to include information in your messages that ought to be
there. What is good refers to the result of the communication. The ethical result is to
strive for the highest good attainable for all those involved in the communication.
Therefore, ethical communication strives for the highest good for all involved and
provides information that is fully adequate for the circumstance, truthful in every
sense, and not deceptive in any way.
B. Ethics as an Integral Part of Communication
Because communication is relational, communication brings us face to face with
questions that contain ethical judgments. We must decide what is the purpose or
purposes of a relationship in which we find ourselves. We must decide how to behave.
We must choose how to respond in that situation. Our responses will be based on
how we regard the other party or parties and what the consequences of our actions
will be.
All of these are basic ethical questions in that they involve our deciding what is the
"best" course of action. Every time we engage ourselves in communication, we make
basic assumptions about the nature of people and our responsibilities to them and
then act on the basis of those assumptions.
C. Ethical Communication
To make the best decisions in our communication, to communicate ethically, we must
give thought to the manner in which we communicate. Formulating a list of rules to
be applied in the different communication situations in which we find ourselves would
be a futile endeavor. The situations are too vast and too varying. Rather, we would
do better to suggest guidelines for ethical communication.
While the answers to those given situations may be difficult, we have to make
decisions and live by the consequences. The decision to communicate and the
decisions made within the communication event carry with them ethical implications.
1. Ethical communicators are respectful of their audiences.
Communication is a two-way process. Communication implies a party other than
ourselves and an attempt on our part to influence that person or party in some way.
The nature of the influence we have on others will depend to a large extent on our
attitudes towards our audiences. As several have observed, an ethical communicator
is one who regards other persons as possessing inherent dignity and worth. Human
beings are to be regarded not as means to ends but rather as valued participants
whose welfare is a significant and considered part of the interaction.
In terms of practice, this principle means that audience analysis is an important part
of communication. We cannot respond appropriately if we are ignorant of the people
with whom we communicate. Respect for audiences includes respect for the ideas
and feelings of the people with whom we interact. If people possess dignity and worth,
then they need to be treated as such even when we may disagree with them strongly.
The most successful businesses have ethical employees. Ethical principles require
integrity, honesty, responsibility, and respect for others.
2. Ethical communicators consider the consequences of their communication.
We do not communicate in vacuums. Our communication endeavors are never
isolated one from the other. How we respond at school influences how we respond
at home and that in turn affects how we respond in our public lives. Having considered
the nature of our audiences, we need to consider further the effect of our
communication on them and upon ourselves.
3. Ethical communicators respect truth.
A great deal of the ethics of communication involves a respect for truth. Indeed, as
one has put it, the assumption of truth undergirds the very concept of communication
itself: "an inherent end of speech is the communication of belief.” If we cannot trust
the other party, we cannot accurately judge how to respond. If we cannot accurately
judge how to respond, then our communication becomes increasingly ineffective. If
the lack of trust is pervasive enough, it is finally destructive to society.
4. Ethical communicators use information properly.
4.1 Adequate Information
As an ethical communicator, a respect for truth means being informed on a topic
before posing as any kind of authority on the subject. Certain professions such
as law, medicine, and education have formal standards of expertise and
knowledge that must be met before one can be a practitioner. We would be
appropriately appalled to discover that the physician who just treated us had
never attended medical school. The same principle applies in communication
situations. If we are going to provide information to people, much less persuade
them, we need to be well prepared for the occasion.
4.2 Accurate Information
In addition to securing information, we also need to consider the accuracy of the
information and the accuracy with which we use it. When we communicate, we
expect people to react in some way to what we say and do. When we use
inaccurate information to influence others, we cause difficulty for them and for
ourselves.
Accurate information is information that is timely, up to date, and applicable to
the situation. In making a presentation on where to attend college, a speaker
might quote a reference work that listed information about schools such as tuition,
majors, and academic standing. If the reference book, though, were ten years
old, the information would be of little use. Out of date information about other
significant topics such as the environment, drug use, or crime rates would be as
useless. Along with finding timely and adequate information, an ethical speaker
will use quotations, facts, ideas, and figures accurately. Quotations will, for
example, reflect the intent of the larger passage from which they are taken.
Analyze message content based on ethical principles. Being an ethical
communicator requires human judgment based on ethical standards.
5. Ethical communicators do not falsify information.
Worse than the distortion of information is falsifying information. Failing to find
information useful to our goals, we make it up. When writing, we acknowledge
sources by the use of quotation marks and include a citation of the source. When
speaking, we acknowledge sources by naming them in the context of the speech.
6. Ethical communicators respect the rights of others to information.
A respect for truth and an ethical consideration of others also means respecting the
rights of others in regard to information and access to information. Collecting
information is an integral part of the research process, but stealing information is theft,
taking something that does not belong to us. Beyond the personal act of theft, stealing
information is unethical because it prevents other people from securing information
and unnecessarily makes their lives more difficult.
For the sake of our audiences, ourselves, and the people affected by our interactions
we need to recognize the ethical component of our communication. Ethics is not just
a matter of political or social policy but is a part of our personal policies as well, an
integral part of our behaviors and our regard for others. Ethical communication will
incorporate a respectful view of its audiences, a consideration of the consequences
of the communication for all parties involved, and a respect for truth. Such a view is
both a challenge and a reward.
ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY
An argumentative essay is a genre of writing that requires the student to investigate
a topic; collect, generate, and evaluate evidence; and establish a position on the topic
in a concise manner.
Key features of an Argumentative essay
1. A clear and arguable position. At the heart of every argument is a claim with
which people may reasonably disagree. To be arguable, a position must reflect
one of at least two points of view, making reasoned argument necessary.
2. Necessary background information. Sometimes we need to provide some
background on a topic we are arguing so that readers can understand what is
being argued.
3. Good reasons. By itself, a position does not make an argument; the argument
comes when a writer offers reasons to back the position up.
4. Convincing support for each reason. You need to offer support for your
reasons: facts, statistics, expert testimony, anecdotal evidence, case studies,
textual evidence.
5. Appeals to readers’ values. Effective arguers try to appeal to readers’ values
and emotions. Examples are the values of equality, freedom and security.
6. A trustworthy tone. Arguments can stand or fall on the way readers perceive
the writer. Very simply, readers need to trust the person who’s making argument.
One way of winning this trust is by demonstrating that you know what you’re
talking about.
7. Careful consideration of other positions. No matter how reasonable and
careful we are in arguing our positions, others may disagree or offer
counterarguments or hold other positions. We need to consider those other views
and to acknowledge and, if possible, refute them in our written arguments.
Ways of Organizing an Argument
Readers need to be able to follow the reasoning of your argument from beginning to end;
your task is to lead them from point to point as you build your case. Sometimes you’ll want
to give all the reasons for your argument first, followed by discussion of any other
positions. Alternatively, you might discuss each reason and any counterargument
together.
1. Introduce the issue and provide any necessary background information.
2. State your thesis.
3. Give the first reason, with support.
4. Give the second reason, with support.
5. Continue as needed (re: on the reasons).
6. Acknowledge and/or refute other arguments.
7. End with a call to action, a restatement of your thesis, or a statement of implications.
Source: Cuerda, F. & Pilapil, E. Purposive Communication in the New General
Education Curriculum, c2017.
