Ethics in Communication

1. Mutuality
2. Individual Dignity
3. Accuracy
4. Access to information
5. Accountability
6. Audience
7. Relative Truth
8. Ends vs. Means
9. Use of Power
Ethics in Communication
1. Mutuality

Pay attention to the needs of others , as well as

yours.
Ethics in Communication
2. Individual Dignity

Do not cause another person embarrassment or

a loss of dignity
Ethics in Communication
3. Accuracy

Ensure that others have accurate information.

Tell them everything they have a right and need
to know, not just what is true.
Ethics in Communication
4. Access to information

Never bolster the impact of communication by

preventing people from communicating with
one another or by hindering access to the
supporting information.
Ethics in Communication
5. Accountability

Be responsible and accountable for the

consequences of your relationships and
communication
Ethics in 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 the receiver have full or 100%
responsibility to ensure that the message is
understood, and that ethics are followed. This is
100/100 rule, not a 50/50 rule.
Ethics in Communication
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.
Ethics in Communication
8. Ends vs. Means

Be sure that the end goal of your

communication and the means of getting to
that end are both ethical although no rule can
be applied without reservation to any situation.
Ethics in Communication
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.
Ethics in Communication
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 so is ethical.