Interpersonal Communication at Your Workplace

Ethics and Individual

Now, let us take a look at some of the attributes and responsibilities of individuals when communicating ethically.

Truthfulness

Truthfulness plays a fundamental role in ethical communication for two reasons:

• Others expect messages to be truthful.
• Messages have consequences.

People inherently expect speakers to communicate truthfully, which makes their being deceived easier (Ozar, 2013). If an audience is not suspicious, they probably will not look for cues that the speaker is lying (Ozar, 2013). However, because of the implicit contract to be honest, the discovery of deception can severely damage relationships. The more intimate the relationship, the greater the expectations of honesty and the more damaging any deception will be.

The second reason why messages should be truthful is the possible consequences of deception. Your communication can influence the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of others. Deceptive communication could persuade a customer to purchase an item, a friend to loan you money, or an acquaintance to go on a date with you. The more consequential the outcome of your message, the more you will be held accountable for the truth. For example, you might not be criticized too harshly for exaggerating your salary when flirting with a stranger, but an employer would probably consider lying about your salary on a job application grossly unethical.

Sharing or Withholding Information

Another fundamental principle of ethical communication concerns what information should be divulged and what can be withheld. When is withholding information a matter of legitimate privacy, and when is withholding information a matter of inappropriate secrecy? For example, telling the significant other the number of previous sexual partners is up to each individual.

A message can be considered legitimately private when other parties have no right to expect access to the message. Inappropriate secrecy, on the other hand, occurs when other parties might legitimately expect access to a withheld message. This distinction is important because, typically, maintaining privacy is ethical but engaging in secrecy may be unethical.

Communicators have an ethical responsibility to share information that other people need to make informed decisions. On the other hand, revealing information can sometimes be unethical. For example, if you have agreed to maintain confidentiality about a topic, revealing what you know could be considered unethical. However, if you violate a confidence because of a higher ethical principle, most people would consider your behavior ethical.

Benefit and Harm of Messages

Finally, to make the most ethical choice, you should consider the benefit or harm associated with your message. One classic example concerns whether lying to a potential murderer about the whereabouts of the intended victim is right or ethical. A principle of honesty suggests that you should tell the truth. But, in this case, once you evaluate the potential harm of sharing versus withholding the information, you might well decide to withhold the information. However, most issues of harm and benefit are less clear.

Since many communication events are complex and the underlying ethical principles are not definitive, you will gradually develop your own philosophy of ethical communication and apply such ethical communication on a case-by-case basis. This is one requirement of being an effective communicator.

Reference:

Ozar, A. (2013). Sincerity, honesty, and communicative truthfulness.Philosophy Today, 57(4), 343−357.