1.4: Ethics and Communication

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Learning Objectives

1. Describe the importance of being an ethical communicator.

2. Explain the National Communication Association (NCA) credo for ethics.

ETHICS COMMUNICATION — Steemit

Ethics refers to what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The concept of ethics applies to communication too. As ethical communicators, you should conform to certain moral standards. The National Communication Association (NCA) has approved a code of ethics for communication in the Euro American Culture. This is referred to as the Credo for Ethical Communication. You can access this credo at the official site of National Communication Association.

Communication ethics across cultural differences. Лекция 1 - online presentation

As a student of communication, you can follow the credo by always presenting accurate, honest, and truthful content for listeners. You should not knowingly alter the truth or hide facts. Always substantiate the information you present.

Let us explore this credo further through an example. Here are two statements made during a presentation by two speakers:

I believe 37 percent of automobile accidents were due to drinking and driving last year.
According to the County Highway Administration, 83 percent of automobile accidents were caused by drunk drivers in 2022.

The first statement can be considered unethical because it contains partial information that may not be correct or valid. Speakers should use accurate and complete statistics in their presentations and tell the audience the source of that information. Guessing facts deprives the audience of the truth. Increase your credibility by providing valid sources for facts and statistics.

Key Takeaways

Understand the importance of being an ethical communicator.
Public speakers have to take ethics into consideration while delivering speeches.
Learn and recite the NCA credo of ethics.

Exercise

Review the Credo at www.natcom.org and explain ethical communication to a new communication scholar.

References

National Communication Association, Credo for Ethical Communication (approved 1999, reaffirmed 2017).