Ethical Communication

THE ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF A GOOD SPEAKER

In a world where “fake news” seems to spread faster than real news, it can be challenging to tell the difference between ethical and unethical messages. This alarming trend runs counter to everything that matters in our homes, classrooms, communities, and democratic society. Fortunately, the very best speakers—those with a positive and enduring influence—are committed to ethical decision making as they develop and deliver their presentations. They speak honestly, verify their facts and evidence, and treat their audience with civility and respect.

To become a good person speaking well, you should apply the principles of ethical communication to every element in the RHETORICAL SPEECHMAKING PROCESS (5–13). Audience members see ethical speakers as trustworthy, their messages as valuable, and their presentations as successful, even when they disagree. To become a more ethical speaker, consider the decisions you make about your rhetorical situation: your occasion; yourself as speaker; your audience; and your purpose, content, and delivery.

Ethical Decisions about the Occasion Consider your speaking OCCASION (61–68). Does your presentation measure up to the occasion’s reason, time, and place? Are you honoring your audience’s expectations? Regardless of whether the occasion is a classroom presentation, a work briefing, a wedding, an award ceremony, or a testimony at a public meeting, ethical speakers respect and adapt to what makes a speaking occasion unique.

Ethical speakers also make sure they don’t exploit a speaking opportunity to achieve their private, contradictory goals. Would it be ethical for a political candidate to use a military funeral—where they are expected to speak with respect and gratitude for the deceased’s sacrifice—to argue that a lack of adequate defense spending is somehow to blame for the deaths of military personnel? Regardless of the validity of their claims, it is unethical for speakers to take advantage of an emotional public occasion to advance their own personal agenda.

Ethical Decisions about Yourself as a Speaker The audience decides whether you are an honest, trustworthy, sincere, and competent SPEAKER (72–85). In other words, your audience will decide if you are a good person speaking well. Ask yourself, “Do I believe in my message, and does it align with my personal beliefs and values? Am I knowledgeable about my subject, and will my message benefit the audience? When I express my opinion, am I honestly and accurately describing other points of view, even as I make my own position as strong as possible?” If you can answer these questions with a yes, you are most likely demonstrating a commitment to ethical communication—and you’ll be much more likely to achieve your purpose.

Ethical Decisions about Your Audience Apply ethical principles as you analyze and adapt to your audience. Are you committed to being an AUDIENCE-CENTERED SPEAKER (88–89)? Will you use what you know about your audience to help them, or will you manipulate and possibly harm them? Will you use RESPECTFUL AND INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE (318–22) that promotes listeners’ appreciation and understanding, or will you speak in ways that may exclude them?

Making ethical choices about audience members begins with learning as much as you can about them—their knowledge, interests, attitudes, and values. But the more you know about your audience, the easier it is to tell them only what they want to hear. Ethical speakers resist this temptation by sharing a message that benefits all of their audience members, even if it isn’t what their audience expected or wanted to hear. For example, an ethical politician may promise a group of parents that an increase in property taxes will be used only to improve public education and provide medical care for children—policies that polls confirm are popular. It would be unethical, however, if that same politician also promised businesses that the same increase would be used to reduce corporate taxes. Although changing your message as you move from one group to another may demonstrate that you are skilled at audience adaptation, it becomes unethical when the two messages contradict each another.

Ethical Decisions about Your Purpose Who will benefit if you achieve your PURPOSE (109–18)—you, your audience, or both you and your audience? It’s fine to have private goals when you speak—goals that benefit you, such as getting a good grade in a communication course or getting a promotion at work—but your private goals should always complement your overall purpose or at least not conflict with it. If your private agenda undermines or contradicts your stated or publicized purpose, you may be headed down an unethical path. If you would be ashamed or embarrassed to reveal your private goal to an audience, you should question the honesty and fairness of your purpose.

Ethical Decisions about Your Content You will face many ethical choices when developing the CONTENT (123–207) of a presentation. Are your CLAIMS (408–11) well founded and reasonable? Have you verified your SUPPORTING MATERIAL (134–51) to make sure it is relevant, up to date, and accurate? If most experts disagree with you, can you support and justify your position with valid evidence? Are you using STATISTICS (147–49) in a manner that is honest, clear, and understandable? Making ethical decisions about your content ensures that your presentation will be truthful and reasonable.

Ethical Decisions about Delivery While many speakers use their DELIVERY (209–301) skills to impress and persuade an audience, ethical speakers make sure not to use their delivery to distract or mislead an audience. If your delivery style springs from a genuine enthusiasm for the subject and an authentic belief in the value of your message, it is ethically appropriate. But when an emotional or dramatic performance is used to subvert the truth or to present a false argument, it is unethical. Ideally, your delivery should reflect and reinforce the other ethical decisions you have made about your presentation.

THE ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF A GOOD AUDIENCE

Audience members—not just speakers—have important ethical responsibilities in all rhetorical situations. First and foremost, EFFECTIVE LISTENING (30–33) is essential for making fair, well-informed judgments about speakers and their message. Listen for key ideas and information with an open mind and withhold evaluation until you fully understand a speaker’s message. If, as an audience member, you don’t or won’t listen because you have decided, even before a presentation begins, that you don’t like the message or the speaker, you will have made a conscious unethical choice.

Ethical audience members:³

• Allow a speaker to be heard even if they disagree with the speaker’s view.
• Strive to understand and respect a speaker before evaluating and responding to their message.
• Provide honest feedback that allows speakers to adapt their presentations accurately and appropriately to audience responses.
• Think critically about the validity and consequences of a message.
• Follow the GOLDEN LISTENING RULE (37–38). Ask yourself, “Would I want an audience to behave the way I’m behaving if I were the speaker?”