Credit attribution

A good friend who is a top achiever in an insurance company sent me a text that got me laughing. She says, “Francis, you won’t believe this. Guess who we are listening to?” I can sense that she was upset, but I could not figure out why, so I probed “Where are you and what’s going on?” She said, “We are attending a seminar, and this speaker is saying things and presenting the same lessons on leadership that you presented to us some time ago. He even used your slides. The nerve of the guy as he does not even attribute the quotes and the slides to you!” I smiled and responded, “That’s ok. Just get from the person what you can get and don’t worry about that. You are not the first person to tell me this.”

I even had a report coming from a few business people that attended a religious retreat and told me that a speaker in that occasion was sharing my life-story and lessons and presenting it as his. Many church personalities and leaders are notorious in the area of using someone else’s work without providing credit attribution and that is not a good thing. Ideas are communicated in a public space. How could anyone be so naive in thinking that one can get away with it?

There is a thing called “credit attribution.” Attribution is acknowledgment or credit to the author of a work. Attribution is a sign of decency and respect to acknowledge the creator by giving them credit for the work.

Why do people copy without acknowledging the source or reference, and what are the probable reasons?

1. They think that as a speaker, one should present an original idea. However, if they cite somebody else’s work, it diminishes the authority and credibility of the speaker. This is, of course, untrue. So you would associate this behavior to insecurity.

2. Another reason could be that they value ego more than they value the truth.

But a credible speaker, trainer, or even author thrives on the readings and materials of other people. As Adam Grant would say, “It is easier to improve on someone else’s idea than to start from scratch. To be an original, you do not have to be first. You just have to be different and to be better.” Better it is to read more, study more, gather more ideas and look at an issue with different lenses of eyes and express the idea, but never failing to cite the source from which the nuclear material and source are derived.

Spencer Johnson says: “Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.” Accidents do happen. Sometimes you come across the material, and you could not remember the source. Just acknowledge that the material comes from another source and are not yours.

Ethical speech preparation starts with taking down notes as you research the topic; careful notes will help you remember where you learned your information; recalling your sources is important because it enables speaker honesty. Do not attempt to pass on another’s work as yours because this is not honest and unethical. Notes would help the speaker tremendously as our memory cannot be trusted. Quintilian says: “A liar should have a good memory.” While the witty Mark Twain says: “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”

Public speaking should reflect the character of the speaker and should be based on a foundation of trust, integrity, respect, and dignity. There are five fundamental principles in being an ethical speaker:

1. Trustworthiness.

2. Integrity and expertise in the subject matter.

3. Respect for others.

4. Dignity in conduct.

5. Truthfulness in the message.

Give proper credit attribution or better yet, be creative and be an original thinker. Do not be afraid that by citing sources and references, your presentation would become lame and that your credibility would be in question. On the contrary, not doing so is a visible act of ethical breach and dishonest conduct and would leave one to wonder whether the speaker or writer knows his or her stuff in the first place. And more importantly, does the speaker or writer practice what he or she preaches?

The medium is the message; the message must be right and the messenger should be righteous. An important thing I need to remind myself all the time.

(Francis Kong’s Level Up Leadership last run for the year will take place on Sept. 10 and 11 at Makati Diamond Residences (near Greenbelt 1). Register early as seats tend to run out. For advanced registration and for group rates and other inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)