MODULE 4

ETHICS IN COMMUNICATION

Principles of Ethical Communication

There are a numerous of core principles associated

with ethical communication, starting with the core value of
Learning Outcomes
honesty that all other values are connected to. However, it
can be said that there is a value underlying honesty (with
1. determine the
regard to ethical communication) and that is emotional principles of ethical
intelligence/empathy as the precursor of all soft skills,
communication
which allows all personnel to be understood, and to
effectively communicate with others. Emotional 2.differentiate
intelligence, within the framework of ethical
ethics from morals
communication, allows one to comprehend the needs of
others, and meet those needs in the most efficient manner
possible as if you were in their shoes.

1. Be Truthful And Honest

Being honest means communicating what is known to be true (only 100 percent
the facts) to a listener, with no intent to deceive or
present only parts of the truth. It also means
being as impartial as possible, that is, not tailoring
the story based on what the speaker wants the
listener to believe. Letting the listener take the
data that is objectively presented and believe
what they choose to believe is a core goal of
ethical communication. Ethical communication
should be based on accurate information and
facts - in a word, do not lie.

2. Active Listening

Hearing someone and listening to them

are two different things. In order for ethical
communication to be effective, it is essential
for the recipient to pro-actively listen to the
speaker, and to not just hear what they want
to hear, or to hear only parts of the conversation. This also means asking questions
when any point is not completely understood, for the sake of clarification.

3. Speak Non-Judgmentally

Ethically and concisely communicating means speaking in a non-judgmental

manner with every recipient, negating needless conflict, which typically creates a
breakdown in communication and causes
misunderstandings. Unnecessary conflict is
never good for any business, and such
conflicts usually result from unethical
communications, with judgmental, accusatory,
and overly-critical comments often being the
catalyst for such breakdowns in
communication.

4. Speak From Your Own Experience

Bringing your personal experience into a dialogue with business listeners is

important, providing backup for your arguments
with something more tangible. Such a
communication method (experiential
communication) paints a complete picture for your
audience and helps to prove your points so that
the listeners have a better comprehension of
what is being said.

5. Consider the Receiver’s Preferred Communication Channel

You risk losing an audience if you use a communication channel that is not
preferred by your intended receiver.
To successfully communicate with
your listeners, use the most preferred
communication channel, whether that
be face-to-face, email, conference
call, phone call, messenger app, etc.
Also, when presenting data to a
business audience, be aware of the
preferred method of presentation for
that business, whether it be graphs,
slides, PowerPoint presentations,
etc. Additionally, since body
language is very important, it is often preferred to meet business clients face-to-face.

6. Strive To Understand

While it is important to be proactive in listening, it is important for listeners to also

strive to fully comprehend what is
being said before responding. While
asking for clarification or confirmation
of a point is fine, many times
questions that listeners pose have
already been answered. Listeners
should think about what has been
said before constructing a reply.
Reading “in between the lines” is also
an important skill that allows for
understanding what isn’t said, but was indirectly said or implied.

7. Avoid A Negative Tone

Ethically communicating assumes the speaker will avoid rudeness, be polite and
professional, and have tact. The ethical
communicator knows that it is not only significant
what you say, but how you say it. Tone is one of
the most critical facets of communication. A
listener may miss the meaning altogether if the
tone is wrong, which can lead to unnecessary
confrontations that decrease business
productivity.

Controlling one’s tone goes along with self-control, a soft skill that allows one to know
how they wish to reply to a terse business message (for instance) versus the most
effective manner for replying. Basically, keeping the tone positive or neutral is best, as
the tone of a written message - or of one’s voice - is always picked up by the receiver,
and can alter how the message is received and/or understood.

Additionally, while it is acceptable to be honest and open, tact - and professional

maturity - means knowing when it is inappropriate to speak up, and when it is crucial to.
Tact also means knowing that being completely honest does not equate with being rude
or negative - it is possible to be completely honest and open with one’s thoughts and
feelings while still remaining polite and respectful.
8. Do Not Interrupt Others

Allowing others to speak is vital for the creation of a civil, effective working
environment. Interrupting others results in
misunderstandings and unnecessary
conflicts and a breakdown in workplace
communications, which only hampers
corporate progress and creates problems.
Interrupting others not only shows a lack of
respect, but does not allow the listener to
fully grasp what is being said, which often
results in incorrect assumptions being made.

9. Respect Privacy And Confidentiality

Most businesses should include a clause in their code of ethics defining what is
suitable when it comes to honoring client
and employee confidentiality and privacy.
This can have a wide range of implications,
including minimizing workplace gossip, and
mitigating toxic conversations about the
private lives of clients and/or personnel.

10. Accept Responsibility

As noted before, a core tenant within any ethical communication framework is

taking responsibility for the actions that
result from one’s words, whether it be
good or bad. This includes both short term
and long term consequences of one’s
communications. Owning one’s words
reinforces the importance of being
conscientious about ethical
communication.
 Examples Of Ethical Communication

There are a numerous of examples of how ethical communication can change the
outcome of a problem in a business or workplace environment, revealing why ethical
communication principles should be followed:

 Medical industry: In the medical industry, not only is there the key HIPAA regulation, but
there are many medical codes of ethics that medical professionals have to follow, with
regard to their actions, conduct, and communications. These principles guarantee that
all patients and fellow medical professionals have their rights protected. For instance,
doctors are required by law to not divulge private information about patients to anyone
whom the patient has not consented to be privy to such private info.

 Property Consulting industry: Ethical communications in the property consulting industry

can take numerous forms, including revealing key pieces of information to would-be
home owners of a property, including “negative” truths about the property - for example,
divulging the entire history of the property, including any accidents or crimes that
happened in the property.

 Marketing industry: Ethical communications in the marketing industry can include

revealing to clients that their business marketing applications are not optimal, and that a
cheaper vendor, or a different form of marketing, will yield better results.
Virtually every industry can benefit from ethical communication principles, which always
seeks to ensure that every enterprise member is able to present valuable pieces of
information so that the best decisions can be made.

Ethics versus Morals comparison chart

Ethics Morals

What are The rules of conduct recognized in Principles or habits with respect
they? respect to a particular class of human to right or wrong conduct. While
actions or a particular group or morals also prescribe dos and
culture. don'ts, morality is ultimately a
personal compass of right and
wrong.

Where do Social system – External Individual - Internal

they come
from?

Why we do Because society says it is the right Because we believe in something

 Ethics versus Morals comparison chart

Ethics Morals

it? thing to do. being right or wrong.

Flexibility Ethics are dependent on others for Usually consistent, although can
definition. They tend to be consistent change if an individual’s beliefs
within a certain context, but can vary change.
between contexts.

The "Gray" A person strictly following Ethical A Moral Person although perhaps
Principles may not have any Morals at bound by a higher covenant, may
all. Likewise, one could violate Ethical choose to follow a code of ethics
Principles within a given system of as it would apply to a system.
rules in order to maintain Moral "Make it fit"
integrity.

Origin Greek word "ethos" meaning Latin word "mos" meaning

“character" "custom"

Acceptability Ethics are governed by professional Morality transcends cultural

and legal guidelines within a particular norms
time and place