you may be familiar with the classic
Johnny Cash song folsom prison blues but
did you know the song borrows heavily
from an older song called Crescent City
Blues by Gordon Jenkins and Beverly Mahr
the man in black didn't credit Jenkins
on folsom City Blues though and the
songs were so similar the Jenkins sued
cash for royalties in the end the issue
was settled out of court for
approximately seventy-five thousand
dollars you may not be too worried about
plagiarism in your next hit song but it
should be on your mind as you prepare
for your next speech giving credit where
credit is due through oral citations is
critical for speakers in this video
we'll discuss why oral citations are
important
where speakers should use the world
citations and how to orally side sources
within a speech let's get started
you may be asking yourself what's the
big deal why our oral citations so
important in a speech at the most basic
level or citations allow a speaker to
avoid plagiarism by crediting the source
of the information used if it didn't
come from your own mind then you need to
tell us where you got it oral
citations can also help a speaker
increase their credibility as the
audience will see that you've taken your
preparation seriously
finally remember that the audience
doesn't have your outline in front of
them to use as a reference if you don't
name the references in your speech then
the audience won't know that it came
from another source let alone where you
got the information
ok so citing sources is important
where should a speaker include citations
it's a good idea to cite your sources in
three different places first include a
source citation immediately following
that piece of information in the
preparation outline of your speech
it will serve as a reminder that you
need an oral citation and also help you
quickly identify the source of that
information
second it's a good idea to include a
bibliography or reference list at the
end of your preparation outline an even
better idea is to keep a running list of
source references in case you lose track
of one finally it is critically
important that you include an oral
citation
of each of these references in your
speech this means saying the source
information out loud at the time you
present the information from that source
so now we know the why and when of source
citation but how does the speaker
actually cite a source during a speech
it's simple let me show you first be
sure that you have the appropriate
information for the citation
this may include the author or origin of
the source the type of source in other
words is this information from a book
website a personal interview etc the
title or description of the source the
date of publication and the source
qualifiers such as their qualifications
credentials and experience it's possible
that you might not have all this
information for every source that's ok
just share what's available
be mindful however that missing
information in the oral citation could
impact the audience's feelings on the
credibility of the information the info
in the oral citation doesn't have to
come in that particular order
in fact it's a good idea to change up
the order or the wording of these
citations in order to avoid sounding
robotic for example you could give a
citation saying according to the article
Sultan of slide by lucas davidson
published in the jun 15 2015 issue of
rolling stone guitar phenom warren
haynes traces his musical roots to jimi
hendrix early eric clapton and Johnny
Winter the same information and citation
could also be given as warren haynes
traces his musical roots to jimi hendrix
early eric clapton and johnny winter
according to the rolling stone article
Sultan of slide by lucas davidson
published on jun 15 2015 whether the
citation comes immediately before or
directly after the information isn't
terribly important it is important
however that the citation be included
with the information don't give a whole
list of sources at the beginning or the
end of the speech
well there's no mistaking Folsom Prison
Blues as a uniquely Johnny Cash song the
lyrics and tune were adapted from an
older song and the creator of that song
deserves
credit for his work the same is true for
information that you use in your
speeches be sure to give credit where
credit is due