Personal communication
Learn how to cite personal communication in Chicago Note 18 style. Follow correct in-text citation rules for emails, conversations, lectures and other private sources to reference sources accurately in your writing.
Personal communications such as letters, emails, conversations, personal interviews, or posts and comments on sites protected by privacy settings may be cited in the notes but are not included in the bibliography. More information, see: Personal communications (14.111).
In-text citations
Place direct quotes between double quotation marks (" ") and provide a paragraph number(s) in the note.
| Citation format | Example |
| Paraphrasing | Regional art has been great for the community because ... 2 |
| Direct quote | "Local artists have renewed this town's appeal to visitors as evidenced by a recent exhibition during the holiday period." 4 |
Footnotes
Identify the communicator and give the date of the communication.
- Seek approval, see: Giving credit and seeking permission (12.3).
- If the communicator wishes to be anonymous, use a generic description, and add a phrase that explains the absence of a name. If your paper has multiple instances of anonymous interviewees, add a general explanation to the first interview note, e.g., ‘All interviews cited in this paper were confidential and names have been withheld by mutual agreement.’
| Citation format | Example |
| Full note |
1 Elizabeth Jensen, email message to author, June 7, 2008. 2 Interview with a regional arts administrator, July 1, 2016 (interviewee’s name withheld by mutual agreement). |
| Subsequent note |
3 Jensen, email to author. 4 Interview with regional arts administrator, para 2. |
Bibliography
No bibliography entry is required.