Ethical requirements and procedures

All members of the PSA agree to the following ethical guidelines. All Fellows, Members, Honorary Members, Honorary Fellows, Retired Members and Associates must agree to these guidelines in order for their application for membership to be accepted.

All grades of PSA members shall:

• accurately represent qualifications and experience in both oral and written communications.
• act, operate his/her business, and speak on a high professional level so as not to offend nor discredit the speaking profession.
• exert due diligence to understand the client's organisation, approaches and goals in advance of the presentation.
• avoid using materials, titles and themes originated by others, either orally or in writing, unless approved by the originator.
• treat other speakers with professional courtesy, dignity and respect.
• maintain and respect the business or personal affairs of clients, agents and other speakers.
• protect the public against fraud or unfair practices and attempt to eliminate from the speaking profession all discreditable practices.
• not be a party to any agreement that unfairly limits or restrains access to the marketplace.

Ethics Committee
An Ethics Committee, consisting of a Company Director, any two Board Members and two Members and/or Fellows representing the Regions. The Committee shall investigate any breaches of these ethical guidelines. They may reprimand members who do not adhere to the guidelines and may even withdraw membership status of individuals who have made serious breaches.

Ethics complaints
If you have any complaints about any member or the PSA you should contact the Secretariat of the PSA for a Complaints Form. You will need to complete that form providing the facts of the case and the specific ethical code which you believe has been violated. We will only consider ethical complaints within three months of the original facts becoming known.