Lesson 4

• 10 basic Ethical Communication (Johnson, as cited in Bernales, Balon and Biligan, 2018)

  Based on principles learned in Straight Talk and Nonviolent Communication as wells as best practices for small group work in general:

  1. Seek to “elicit the best” in communications and interactions with other group members.
  2. Listen when others speak.
  3. Speak non-judgmentally.
  4. Speak from your own experience and perspective, expressing your own thoughts, needs, and feelings.
  5. Seek to understand others. (rather than to be “right ” or “more ethical than thou”).
• 6. Avoid speaking for others, for example by characterizing what others have said without checking your understanding, or by universalizing your opinions, beliefs, values, and conclusions, assuming everyone shares them.

  7. Manage your own personal boundaries: share only what you are comfortable sharing.

  8. Respect the personal boundaries of others.

  9. Avoid interrupting and side conversations.

  10. Make sure that everyone has time to speak, that all members have relatively equal “airtime” if they want it.
• 7 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION

  1. Completeness
  2. Concreteness
  3. Courtesy
  4. Correctness
  5. Clarity
  6. Consideration
  7. Conciseness
• Fill in the Blank

  A) The rhetorical triangle

  B) Three rhetorical appeal

  C) Ethos

  D) Pathos

  E) Logos

  F) Logos

  G) Ethos

  H) Pathos

  I) Speaker

  J) Message

  K) Audience

  
• The rhetorical triangle is a common re ference to the three rhetorical appeals identified by Aristotle: ethos, pathos, and logos. These three

  Greek terms make reference to the primary concepts from which

  messages – in any communication channel – are created.
• Rhetoric is the ancient art of using language to persuade. If you use it

  well, your audience will easily understand what you're saying, and will

  more likely be in fluenced by it.
• Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived from 384 to 322 B.C.E. Other than Plato, no philosopher in history has been as influential. Among many of Aristotle's writings, he developed a theory he

  called "rhetoric."
• Rhetoric, according to Aristotle, is the art of speaking persuasively. Today, we use the term to refer to all forms of persuasive communication, including written, spoken, and visual .
• The rhetorical triangle definition can be expressed by saying that Aristotle named three major appeals that form rhetoric.
• What is the rhetorical triangle? The three corners of Aristotle's rhetorical triangle are ethos, pathos, and logos. The rhetorical appeals definition can be described as the strategies that a writer or speaker uses to persuade an audience.
• The three points on the Rhetorical Triangle relate directly to the three classic appeals you should consider when communicating.
• Ethos: building trust by establishing your credibility and authority (Writer).
• Ethos is an appeal to credibility.
• Pathos: appealing to emotion by connecting with your audience through their values and interests (Audience).
• Pathos is an appeal to emotion.
• Logos: appealing to your audience's intelligence with well-constructed and clearly argued ideas (Context).
• Logos is an appeal to logic.
• Fill in the Blank

  A) Text

  B) Subject / Genre / Publication

  C) context & exigence

  D) time / location / event / beliefs

  E) author

  F) Identity / credentials

  G) Intended audience

  H) who author imagined

  I) Purpose

  
• Rhetor is a term used to refer to anyone attempting to communicate persuasively with an audience. To do this, the rhetor will employ the three strategies of the ethos, pathos, and logos triangle.
• In addition to the rhetorical triangle, the rhetor must consider the rhetorical situation.
• The rhetorical situation is often depicted as a triangle within a circle. In the rhetorical situation, there are five main elements: the rhetor (or speaker), the audience, the message, the purpose, and the context. When considering which of the rhetorical appeals to employ, the rhetor must consider how best to convey the intended message to the particular audience receiving it.
• Examples of How to Build Ethos in Communications:

  • Use appropriate and professional language for your intended audience.
  • Design your communications professionally.
  • Conduct sound and ethical research (and cite all sources).
  • Use appropriate jargon to demonstrate awareness of the field and your audience.
  • Follow established conventions and paradigms.
  • Use celebrity endorsements (get credible and well-established people on board with your idea).
  • Make logical connections between ideas and avoid logical fallacies at all costs.
• Examples of How to Use Logos to Be Persuasive:

  • Use statistics or established facts.
  • Name features of a product or service.
  • Reference research in support of your claim.
  • Make logical connections between concepts.
  • Be specific (when appropriate, be as specific as possible and avoid generalizations).
• Examples of Ways to Use Pathos to Persuade:

  • Use humor to keep people engaged.
  • Show images that evoke strong emotions.
  • Choose words that get people excited or emotionally charged.
  • Change your tone of voice or pace to evoke enthusiasm or angst.
• Widely considered the greatest scientist of the 20th century, Albert Einstein (1879–1955) is responsible for the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and other foundational scientific concepts. He won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. In 1936, he wrote the following letter to a 6th-grade student, Phyllis Wright, in response to her questions: "Do scientists pray? And if so, what do they pray for?"
• Fill in the Blank

  A) The rhetorical framework

  B) Speaker / writer

  C) Audience

  D) Subject

  E) Occasion (context)

  F) Purpose

  G) Aristotle's rethorical triangle

  H) SOAPS

  I) SUBJECT

  J) OCCASION (CONTEXT)

  K) AUDIENCE

  L) PURPOSE

  M) SPEAKER

  
• A letter.

  A) January 24, 1936

  B) Phyllis

  C) Albert Einstein

  
• Fill in the Blank

  A) Subject

  B) Occasion

  C) Audience

  D) Purpose

  E) Speaker

  
• For readings

  A) deeply

  B) answer

  C) Interact

  
• The principle of clarity emphasizes that communication should be clear, straightforward, and easily understandable. This ensures that the message is accurately received and interpreted, minimizing misunderstandings.
• The principle of attention focuses on capturing and maintaining the audience’s attention. Effective communication considers the interests and engagement level of the audience to ensure they stay focused on the message.
• The principle of feedback highlights the importance of a two-way communication process, where the sender receives responses from the audience. Feedback helps confirm understanding, enables adjustments, and improves communication effectiveness.
• The principle of informality values flexibility and a relaxed tone in certain interactions, where rigid formality is unnecessary. Informal communication can foster openness, accessibility, and ease, particularly in interpersonal and collaborative settings.
• The principle of consistency ensures that communication aligns with established norms, values, and previous messages. Consistency builds credibility, reinforces trust, and avoids confusion by maintaining a coherent message over time.
• The principle of timeliness emphasizes the importance of delivering information at the right time. Timely communication helps ensure relevance, enables prompt actions or decisions, and maintains the flow of information when it’s most needed.
• The principle of adequacy focuses on providing enough information for the audience to fully understand the message. It avoids both under-communication and overloading, ensuring the audience has a comprehensive yet manageable amount of information.