Conclusion - Technical communication ethics

Practical models for technical communication - Shannon Kelley 2021

Conclusion
Technical communication ethics

As you move forward in your study and practice of technical communication, remember the principles covered in this chapter. Like Kamaal or Julia, you will probably feel pressured to take an ethical shortcut, sooner or later. Recognize that the temporary advantages are not worth the long-term damage to your reputation. Follow the requirements of employers, as well as legal standards. Communicate clearly by avoiding approaches that confuse or exclude. Don’t manipulate ideas to make your job easier. Get permission to use information that is not yours and give credit for that information.

Ethical considerations should not be an afterthought. Instead, make ethical communication the basis of all your work. Behaving ethically means technical communicators put the needs of clients and users above their own. Being an ethical communicator doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does require a professional frame of mind. Your relationship with clients and users is based on trust. Honor that trust by preparing your communication as clearly, precisely, accurately, and honestly as you can.

Notes

1. “Ethical Principles,” Society for Technical Communication, Adopted by the STC Board of Directors 1998, https://www.stc.org/about-stc/ethical-principles/.

2. “Worst Corporate Euphemism Ever? GM’s ’Unallocated’ Factories a Contender,” CBSNews, November 27, 2018, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/worst-corporate-euphemism-ever-gms-unallocated-factories-a-contender/.

3. Douglas Walton, Fallacies Arising from Ambiguity, Applied Logic Series (Springer: 1996), 175.

Image