Getting a message across in the workplace, in advertisement and any other medium of instruction involves tact; and an understanding of the ethical considerations necessary to be an effective communicator. Acceptable strategies for effective communication deliver the message in a non-offensive, well-intentioned, but categorical way. Ethical conduct in strategic communication does not: deceive the listeners, persuade the audience using underhand techniques to mislead them, staying transparent across all media.
Ethical communication does not lie, both through commission and omission. Therefore, communiques from a morally bound center of information will never deliberately provide information that is wholly untruthful (Hoke, 2016). Such individuals take their duty of care to the listeners seriously, fully understanding that reliance on some faulty communication exposes the speaker to an action in negligence. That duty also extends to falsifying an impression through omitting pertinent facts about the subject to make it more appealing, or less undesirable (Johannesen, Valde " Whedbee, 2008).
There is a science to convincing listeners to respond positively to the message in a communicative piece of information. It is unethical to manipulate subliminal messaging techniques and other behavioral indicators to ‘shepherd’ the audience to a conclusion without it considering the merits of the information in the message (Övür, 2017). These techniques include product placement, socio-cultural/econo-political mirroring, and creating aspirations in the listeners by using already-popular perspectives (Macri " Sarmento, 2010). Communicators that use these methods to draw listeners’ attention away from focusing on the entirety of a message are unethical. Effective communication that is ethical must be consistent across all media; avoiding hyperbole to the extent that it alters the true meaning of the communique (Eberwein " Porlezza, 2016).
References
Eberwein, T., " Porlezza, C. (2016). Both Sides of the Story: Communication Ethics in Mediatized Worlds. Journal Of Communication, 66(2), 328-342. doi: 10.1111/jcom.12216
Hoke, T. (2016). A Question of Ethics: Misrepresentation of Professional Credentials is an Ethical Breach. Civil Engineering Magazine Archive, 86(7), 40-41. doi: 10.1061/ciegag.0001118
Johannesen, R., Valde, K., " Whedbee, K. (2008). Ethics in human communication. Long Grove, Ill: Waveland Press.
Macri, M., " Sarmento, J. (2010). Respecting privacy: Ethical and pragmatic considerations. Language " Communication, 30(3), 192-197. doi: 10.1016/j.langcom.2009.11.005
Övür, A. (2017). The Methods of Subliminal Influence and Applications in Mass Media. The Turkish Online Journal Of Design, Art And Communication, 7(1), 25-35. doi: 10.7456/10701100/003
