Is Ethical Communication the Same Thing as Effective Communication?
The following is a personal reflection by the editor
EHow.com defines effective communication as: “a process through which the sender conveys a message that the receiver readily receives and understands. It is a two-way process instead of a one-way process. To effectively communicate a message, you must understand how a receiver will process your message. It is important to include visuals, auditory effects as well as kinesthetic information to appeal to the widest range of listeners."
Read more : http://www.ehow.com/facts_5459110_definition-effective-communication-skills.html
Read more : http://www.ehow.com/facts_5459110_definition-effective-communication-skills.html
Ethical communication can absolutely be equated to effective communication. This is what a professional communicator should strive to want to always be: both ethical and effective in communication! These two skills can intertwine and be parallel but they are not dependent on each other. One can be an ethical communicator, but not successful in being an effective communicator. An individual may be effective in their communication, but they are not at all ethical.
For example, I have definitely been in meetings where the supervisor’s message has been 100% clear in what he/she was trying to communicate but the message was not ethically sound. I have worked with other professionals that were extremely ethical in their approaches, but were not clear and articulate communicators, so their messages were not understood by the group. I have been extremely fortunate to work for a small-business owner that was both ethical and effective in communicating messages. I have also been unfortunate enough to have to sit through a meeting or two were the executive was both unethical and ineffective in communicating; this was by far the worst-case scenario!
For example, I have definitely been in meetings where the supervisor’s message has been 100% clear in what he/she was trying to communicate but the message was not ethically sound. I have worked with other professionals that were extremely ethical in their approaches, but were not clear and articulate communicators, so their messages were not understood by the group. I have been extremely fortunate to work for a small-business owner that was both ethical and effective in communicating messages. I have also been unfortunate enough to have to sit through a meeting or two were the executive was both unethical and ineffective in communicating; this was by far the worst-case scenario!
By understanding David Berlo’s model of communication, one can hopefully improve on such above mentioned situations. The following explains this model:
Illustration provided by http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/an-introduction-to-organizational communication/section_06/20ed98da45a6e49b18ecd2272e8d223b.jpg
Understanding this process could have helped me improve upon my own personal career experiences. Had I been aware that the sender of the information may not be accounting for external “noise” that could disrupt the message from being received, I may have been able to ask better clarifying questions to get to the core of the message. By educating one's self on communication issues and theories, you will be more prepared to navigate the murky waters of communication in the digital age. Employing ethical guidelines and knowing the communication process will provide the foundation for professional communicators to navigate any new communication challenge presented in an ever-changing environment. Technology changes but ethics do not have to.
“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.”
~Spencer Johnson
~Spencer Johnson
RESOURCES:
-Dues, Michael & Mary Brown. 1941. Boxing Plato’s Shadow: An Introduction to the Study of Human Communication. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
-http://www.ehow.com/facts_5459110_definition-effective-communication-skills.html
-Heyer, Paul. 2007. Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society. 5th ed. Edited by David Crowley. USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
--http://thinkexist.com/quotations/ethics/
-Dues, Michael & Mary Brown. 1941. Boxing Plato’s Shadow: An Introduction to the Study of Human Communication. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
-http://www.ehow.com/facts_5459110_definition-effective-communication-skills.html
-Heyer, Paul. 2007. Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society. 5th ed. Edited by David Crowley. USA: Pearson Education, Inc.
--http://thinkexist.com/quotations/ethics/