Too often, inexperienced speakers credit their sources in bare-bones fashion, offering a rote recitation of citation elements. For example, they might cite the publication name and date but leave out key details, such that the source is a leading authority in his or her field, that could convince the audience to accept the source as reliable and its conclusions as true. Discerning listeners will accept as legitimate the supporting materials you offer for your claims—examples, stories, testimony, facts, and statistics (see Chapter 8)—only if they believe that the sources are reliable and accurate, or credible.
Source reliability refers to our level of trust in a source’s credentials and track record for providing accurate information. If you support a scientific claim by crediting it to an unknown student’s personal blog, for example, listeners won’t find it nearly as reliable as if you credited it to a scientist affiliated with a reputable institution.
While a source that is reliable is usually accurate, this is not always so.3 Sometimes we have information that contradicts what we are told by a reliable source. For example, a soldier might read a news article in the Washington Post newspaper about a conflict in which he or she participated. The soldier knows the story contains inaccuracies because the soldier was there. In general, however, the soldier finds the Washington Post a reliable source. Since even the most reliable source can sometimes be wrong, it is always better to offer a variety of sources, rather than a single source, to support a major point. This is especially the case when your claims are controversial.
A simple and straightforward way to demonstrate a source’s trustworthiness is to include a brief description of the source’s qualifications to address the topic (a “source qualifier”), along with your oral citation (e.g., “researcher at the Salk Institute,” columnist for The Economist). A brief mention of the source’s relevant affiliations and credentials will allow the audience to put the source in perspective and establish the source’s credibility, or ethos. And when offering your own insights or experience, don’t forget to mention your own qualifications. Whoever the source, audience members will want to know why they should accept them. The “Overview of Source Types with Sample Oral Citations” in this chapter and the From Source to Speech guide “Demonstrating Your Sources’ Reliability and Credibility” illustrate how you can orally cite your sources in a way that listeners will accept them.