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Formatting Guides

How to Cite a Speech in Chicago Style: Everything You Need to Know

How to cite a speech chicago
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If your research involves listening to modern politicians or scientists in real time, you might wonder how to cite a speech in Chicago properly. It may be a lecture you’ve attended or conversation during a radio show – in any case the Chicago style has a special format for citing it.

Today we will review all necessary details and requirements on how to refer to a lecture in your research paper or essay. If you are writing one, the information provided by professional essay writing service might be useful for you, so stay with us and check out our tips and examples.

Citing a Speech or Lecture in Chicago: Definition and Purpose

It may happen that you attend an important lecture at your university and get some interesting information which you wish (or are required) to use in your essay afterwards. That is why you need to know how to cite a speech in Chicago style. 

In fact, there are several different variations of listening to a lecture or presentation, not only doing it in person. You might get it from radio shows, websites, books or even from transcripts. We will review all these specific cases below. In case you are looking for some information on how to cite a youtube video Chicago, read one more blog we have on our platform.

How to Cite a Speech Found in a Book: Chicago Style

This is how to cite a speech in a book in Chicago style:

  • Follow the general format of citing book.
  • Instead of the book authors’ names, begin your reference with the name of the person who made the lecture.
  • Provide the title of the lecture, the page range and the chapter it is in, if needed.
  • Proceed with other information about the book, including publication information.

The general format is quite simple. Students must pay attention to punctuation, since bibliography uses full stops instead of full note's comma. Let's take a look at it:

Bibliography 

Author's Surname, First Name. “Speech Title.” In Book Title: Subtitle, edited by Editor First Name Surname, Page range. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.

Full Note

Author's First Name Surname, “Speech Title,” in Book Title: Subtitle, ed. Editor First Name Surname (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), Page number(s).

Short Note

Speaker's Surname, “Shortened Speech Title,” Page number(s).

Below you can find several examples of Chicago citations for sources found in books.

Chicago citation for speech found in books example

Citing a Speech Transcript From a Website in Chicago Style

Today it is usually more convenient to find your source, so let’s proceed by checking out the rules of Chicago style paper citation: speech that was published on a website. Again, you need to follow general Chicago guidelines but don’t forget to put the speechmaker’s name first instead of website authors’ or owners’ names.

There are three different cases you can access speech online:

  1. Video record
  2. Audio record
  3. Transcript of the speech

Let’s review citation requirements for each of these cases. In case you are looking for information on how to cite a website Chicago, read one more of our blogs.

How to Cite a Speech From a Video on a Website in Chicago Style

Common question is, how to cite a speech from a video in Chicago style? Surely, you can find lots of useful information for your essay in this show, where numerous ideas get presented in shortened form. So, this is how you cite a video speech in your work:

Bibliography 

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Video Title.” Lecture Series, University Name, filmed Month Day, Year. Video of lecture, Video length. URL.

Full Note 

Speaker’s First Name Last Name, “Video Title,” Lecture Series, University Name, Month Day, Year, video of lecture, Video length, URL.

Short Note 

Speaker’s Last Name, “Shortened Video Title,” Time Stamp(s).

Here, we can take a look at several examples of citing speech from a video:

Chicago citation of speech from a video on a website example

Citing an Audio Lecture Found on a Website

Now let’s find out how to cite a lecture in Chicago format! Chances are, you have found its audio record on a website and need to use it as a source for your work. The format is as follows:

Bibliography 

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Speech Title.” Recorded at Location, Month Day, Year. URL.

Full Note 

Speaker’s First Name Last Name, “Speech Title,” recorded at Location, Month Day, Year, Timestamp(s), URL.

Short Note 

Speaker’s Last Name, “Shortened Speech Title,” Timestamp(s).

Do you need to better understand how to cite an audio lecture using an example? We've got you covered:

Chicago citation of audio lecture found on a website example

Chicago Lecture Citation: Speech From Database

Now, how to cite a lecture in Chicago style if there is no recording? What if there's just its transcript published on website? Unfortunately, not every speech in the world gets an appropriate recording. Besides, website administration might choose to keep text versions instead of audios. So, this is how you should refer to it in your bibliography:

Bibliography 

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Speech Title.” Transcript of speech delivered at Location, Month Day, Year. URL.

Full Note 

Speaker’s First Name Last Name, “Speech Title,” transcript of speech delivered at Location, Month Day, Year, URL.

Short Note 

Speaker’s Last Name, “Shortened Speech Title.”

Here we have several examples of cited lectures from database for your better understanding: 

Chicago citation of lecture found on a database example

How to Cite a Lecture You Attended

Finally, when writing your paper, you might appear in the need of citing a lecture (Chicago format) you've attended on your own. No published materials are involved in this case, so the order will be quite simple:

Bibliography 

Speaker’s Last Name, First Name. “Lecture Title.” Lecture, Institution Title or Event Title, Location, Month Day, Year.

Full Note 

Speaker’s First Name Last Name, “Lecture Title” (lecture, Institution Title or Event Title, Location, Month Day, Year).

Short Note 

Speaker’s Last Name, “Shortened Lecture Title.”

Below you can find several examples of citations for lectures you attended. 

Chicago citation of lecture you attended example

How to Cite a Classroom Presentation or a Discussion

Sometimes you might need to include  information from a discussion or a material presented by student in your class group, so this is how to cite a powerpoint in Chicago format:

Bibliography

Presenter's Last Name, First Name. “Full Title of the Presentation/Discussion.” Class presentation (or class discussion). Course Title/Course Number, Institution Title, Location, Month Day, Year.

Full Note 

Presenter's First Name Last Name, “Full Title of the Presentation/Discussion” (class presentation/ discussion, Course Name/Course Number, Institution Title, Location, Month Day, Year).

Short Note

Presenter's Last Name, “Shortened Presentation/Discussion Title.”

Here, we can take a look at several examples of citing classroom presentation or discussion:

Chicago citation of classroom presentation example

Final Thoughts About How to Cite a Speech Chicago

Today we have learned how to cite a speech, Chicago style. General rules have been provided and detailed explanations for specific formatting variations in different situations were also provided. We've explored numerous kinds of sources for speech, providing examples for each one.

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Still have doubts about Chicago speech citations?

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Article posted on:Aug 9, 2022
Article updated on:Dec 6, 2023

Comments

Leave your comment here:
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Lauren
9/30/2022 7:34 AM
Hi. Speech can be considered written, right? If it's from history? Like, can I cite George Washington's farewell address? How can I do it?
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StudyCrumb
9/30/2022 7:49 AM
Hello Lauren,

You should find the most common current and easily accessible citation for the edition of Washington’s papers. Then, stick to the author-date style of Chicago format. You citation will look like this:

The Writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources, 1745–1799, Volume 35, March 30, 1796-July 31, 1797, ed. John C. Fitzpatrick (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1940), 214–238.
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Jacob
10/7/2022 9:20 AM
Hello. First of all, your article is great. Secondly, the question I have technically has little to do with Chicago style, and more with speeches in general, but I'm out of options of where to ask. How do I verbally cite sources in a public speech? Is this even a thing?
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StudyCrumb
10/7/2022 9:28 AM
Hello Jacob,

In your own verbal speech you are expected to deliver your own thoughts and words. You shouldn't give too many quotes, and they must be on point. For example, "As so-and-so said in his paper ‘Title of paper’”… and then quote the passage. Don't use the general written point with the number of publication or pages. This will just look weird.

Hope this helps!