LESSON 2: ETHICAL COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICAL COMMUNICATION

- It is not enough that we communicate our thoughts. More importantly, we must know how to
communicate the right way. There should be ethical consideration when we communicate.
- Ethics is from the Greek word ethos, which means “character.” Ethics guides you to be a good person.
When you observe ethical communication, you should be responsible in your thinking, in the way you
decide and develop relationships within and across cultural contexts.
- Through ethical communication, people can appreciate the importance and dignity of human beings by
establishing truth, sense of being responsible, fair, and having integrity.
- Ethical communication is concerned on the improvement of interpersonal relationships of human
beings and aimed at improving society’s condition.
- Unethical communication, on the other hand, will affect the manner of how you communicate to
people. Unethical communication affects the value of communication and eventually the world you
live in.

WHAT IS ETHICAL COMMUNICATION?

- Ethical Communication a is a perspective-put-in-practice driven by the understanding that

communication should be governed by one’s personal values, such as being truthful, concise, and
responsible with one’s words and actions.
- As a set of principles, ethical communication dictates that one’s thoughts must be expressed effectively
and concisely, and that the resulting actions will [hopefully] be based solely on how the message is
communicated. Thus, ethical communication supports a framework that aligns with an individual’s
behavior.

ROADBLOCKS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

1. Language Use

2. Jargon

3. Language Fluency

4. Accessibility to Technology
ETHICAL COMMUNICATION

1. Honesty - being as objective as possible, that is, not tailoring the story based on what the speaker wants the
listener to believe.

2. Active Listening

3. Non-judgmental manner of communication

4. Speaking from own experience

5. Respect for other party’s/parties’ preferred channel of communication

6. Respect for privacy and confidentiality

7. Willingness to accept responsibility for statements and conclusions

From the National Communication Association Credo (1999), the following are the Ethical
Communication Principles:

1. Truthfulness

2. Freedom of Expression

3. Respect and strive to understand communicators

4. Access to communication resources and opportunities

5. Promotion for communication climates of caring and emotional understanding

6. Promotion for communication climates of caring and emotional understanding

7. Condemning a type of communication that degrades a person

8. Practice fairness and just personal convictions