To show respect for your audience, use the noun or phrase that a particular ethnic group prefers when you refer to that group. For example, African American is commonly preferred to black. Sometimes people from a group may use more than one name to refer to themselves—for example, Latino/Latina and Chicano/Chicana or a name derived from their country of origin. If you are uncertain about which term to use in such a case, ask friends or classmates who are members of that group which name they prefer.

When ethnicity is relevant to your audience, be sure to refer to ethnic groups correctly. Not all people from Laos are Hmong, a visiting professor from Nigeria is not African American, and people from Puerto Rico or Spain are not Mexican Americans. Moreover, when a word comes from a language that uses different masculine and feminine forms, pay attention to those forms. For example, author Ana Castillo is a Chicana, not a Chicano. Attentiveness to such distinctions during a speech will pay big dividends in the form of appreciation from your listeners.