Ten Ethics is Communication

1.Mutuality.
Pay attention to the needs of others, as well as yours.

2.Individual dignity
Do not cause another person embarrassment or a loss of dignity.

3.Accuracy. Ensure that others have accurate information. Tell them everything
for they have a right and need to know, not just what is true.

4.Access to information.
Never bolster the impact of your communication by preventing people from
communicating with one another or by hindering access to the supporting
information.
5.Accountability.
Be responsible and accountable for the consequences of your
relationships and communication.

6.Audience.
As audience or receiver of the information, you also have ethical
responsibilities. A good rule of thumb is the “200% rule” where both the sender
and
receiver have full or 100% responsibility to ensure that the message is
understood,and
that ethics are followed. This is a 100/100 rule, not a 50/50 rule.

7.Relative truth.
As either sender or receiver of information, remember that your own point of
view may not be shared by others, and that your conclusions are relative to
your perspective, so allow others to respectfully disagree or see it differently.

8.Ends vs. means.

Be sure that the end goal of your communication and the means of getting to
that end are bothethical although no rule can be applied without reservation to any
situation.

9.Use of power.
In situations where you have more power than others (e.g. a teacher with a student,
a boss with a subordinate, a parent with a child), you also have more
responsibility for the outcome.

10.Rights vs responsibilities.
Balance your rights against your responsibilities even if you live in a
wonderful society where your rights are protected by law; not everything you
have a right to do is ethical.