AN ETHICAL COMMUNICATOR IS TRUSTWORTHY

1. Trust is a key component in Communication ( Louwin Tan)

- Communication of Trustworthiness define as an interactive process that affects, monitors, and guides
members’ actions and attitudes in their interactions with one another, and that ultimately determines
the level of trust that exists between them. - Nelson and Coxhead (1997)

- Trust also is essential to communicator credibility. Audiences view trustworthiness as the motivation to
be truthful. Identifying whom to trust follows systematic principles. People decide quickly another’s
apparent intent: Who is friend or foe, on their side or not, or a cooperator or competitor. Those
seemingly on their side are deemed warm (friendly, trustworthy). People then decide whether the other
is competent to enact those intents.

Overall, communicator credibility needs to address both expertise and trustworthiness.

2. Do not intentionally omit, delete, or take information out of context just to prove your points.
(Tolentino, Divine)

- Consistency is the true foundation of trust. and to prove your points is something you need to be
consistent.

- Your audience will expect that what you say is the truth as you understand it. This means that you have
not intentionally omitted, deleted, or taken information out of context simply to prove your points.

Trustworthiness is shown in a person's actions, not just words. Because your audiences will listen to
what you say and how you say it, but also to what you don’t say or do. This means to consider more
than one perspective on your topic, and then select the perspective you perceive to be correct just by
giving concrete reasons on why you came to a specific conclusion. Being worthy of trust is something
you earn with an audience. Many wise people have observed that trust is hard to build but easy to lose.
A communicator may not know something and still be trustworthy, but it’s a violation of trust to pretend
you know something when you don’t. Communicate what you know, and if you don’t know something,
research it before you speak or write.