[tab name=’Guidelines’]

Guidelines : To Speaker

Commending Speakers
Guidelines and Alternate Phrases

• State the general commendation about the speaker’s presentation.
• What an informative talk you made last week!
• Your session at last week’s conference made my week.
• If nothing else had been of personal benefit, your presentation alone was well worth the price of my registration for last week’s conference.
• Thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule to share your expertise with us at last Thursday’s luncheon.
• I appreciate the time you took to work with us last week. Your presentation was sincere and urgent, as it should have been.
• From all indications, your Tuesday workshop was a success. Thank you for so willingly giving your every effort toward planning and presenting an effective, well-received program.
• We want to express our appreciation for the excellent job you did in both preparing and presenting your topic to our eager audience.
• We appreciate so much your speaking to our group of CPEs last Tuesday about the need for continuing creativity in the field.
• Thank you for making yourself available to our graduates last week in their tenth session this semester.
• We have read the evaluations–you were a real favorite with the attendees at this year’s Boston convention.
• We appreciate you sharing your expertise with us at our Tenth Anniversary Celebration in San Antonio.
• Thanks so much for the outstanding presentation you made to our group this past week as we launched our organization into what we hope will be our finest year ever.
• From the comments that continue to come into our office, your presentation last week at the IBA convention was a tremendous success.
• Be specific with your praise. State at least two or three details you appreciated about the presentation. Were the speaker’s comments timely, fresh, well documented? Did you like his or her presentation skills–fast-paced delivery, use of humor, method of telling anecdotes? Single out one or two things that were particularly helpful to you personally or to your company. In other words, let the reader know you still remember the presentation!
• Your enthusiasm was contagious; I felt my spirits lift two notches after hearing you speak.
• Not only did you give us “the facts” but also you illustrated them in such a memorable way they really took on new meaning.
• The visuals you selected to reinforce your key points certainly increased the effectiveness of what you had to say. They were so professionally prepared.
• I certainly appreciated your humor. As you are well aware from the many speeches you give on this topic each year, it’s not a topic that, in and of itself, keeps people awake at night. Your presentation style made it come alive!
• You did a superb job of keeping the audience’s attention under difficult circumstances.
• The statistics you quoted were quite alarming and should call us all to immediate action. Would you do me the favor of telling me where I can get a copy of the article containing the numbers you cited?
• What a superb speaker you are! Your delivery style is captivating–who could dare not listen to a message expressed so beautifully with all the right words and gestures?
• Your analogy of the malfunctioning elevator will stay with me for a long time. What a memorable way to present your “me-first” obstacle to good customer service.
• The slides you used to illustrate our key points looked so professional. I’m sure they’re evidence of the long hours you spent in making the presentation meaningful to our group specifically.
• Your levity added just the right mix to the seriousness of our situation.
• Particularly to your credit was your ability to keep the audience tuned in with so many distractions outside in the hallway.
• The statistics you quoted certainly impressed upon me the urgency of taking action now.
• Your five how-tos were as instructive as your stories were motivational. And I’ve been one to say we need know-how and inspiration. Thanks for delivering large doses of both ingredients to our plan for success.
• I was overwhelmed by your knowledge of the subject. You handled the audience’s every question with accuracy, honesty, and brevity. In fact, the multitude of questions should underscore again to you the audience’s genuine interest in your ideas.
• To put it succinctly: you fired us up.
• Share any new insight or benefit to you personally. Mention the ongoing value of what the speaker had to say.
• I plan to use some of these tips in my job with Kemper Insurance.
• The negotiation skills have already paid off in the purchase of a new car just last week.
• Not to mention the immediate value in my current job, listing my completion of your course on my résumé should prove to be a real attention-getter. Your work is held in such high regard in the industry.
• Actually, your presentation shed new light on our glibly accepted industry standards. You’ve motivated me to do more reading on the subject.
• In fact, you’ve moved me to immediate action about the issue. I’ve written my representatives in Congress to express my feelings about passage of the Hammer-Shold legislation.
• I had no idea what you planned to say in last week’s New Orleans session would change my career goals and, in fact, my life.
• I plan to make my notes on your presentation a permanent part of my sales manual.
• Your ideas are going to work for me; my desk is looking better already.
• Our group will never be the same. We can’t help but realize some return on the ideas you planted.
• It’s been a week now, and I hear still comments in the cafeteria and hallways about your presentation. I think your ideas have already become a permanent part of our culture.
• Mention any commendation you plan to pass on, if appropriate, to his or her superiors. Offer to refer the speaker’s name to others, if you’re in a position to do so.
• I’m sure you’ll have no objection to my passing your name on to others who have need of a first-rate speaker.
• I plan to keep your name on file should I have an opportunity to recommend you to another group looking for such a professional presentation.
• Please know you will be the first person called when we again need someone of your expertise on the topic.
• Perhaps you won’t object to my tooting your horn from time to time when I hear of similar groups looking for a speaker.
• I’ve taken the liberty of passing on your name and my enthusiastic referral to our national headquarters.
• Several other regions could certainly benefit from this program. I intend to forward information to them about how they can contact you directly.
• I’ll assume you don’t mind if I want to drop my regional directors a note suggesting they contact you directly for other follow-up programs.
• If you ever need a reference for someone who has had his head in the sand for the past decade and doesn’t know who you are, give me a call. I’ll be happy to tell him what you’ve done for our organization.
• Your name will be on the tip of my tongue for others looking for a unique presentation on this subject.
• I plan to keep your brochure and my notes on your session permanently so I can share them with colleagues in the months to come.

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[tab name=’Example 1′]

Example 1: Speaker commendation letters

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Vernon,
What a special treat it was to hear you at BNA! Your outstanding program had to be a convention highlight for the entire audience. The program content was packed with an incredible amount of usable information. I particularly found helpful the “Ten Ingredients of a Successful Proposal.” That formula should certainly improve my sales ratio.
Your delivery style, too, was both captivating and powerful. I could tell within the first 30 seconds the audience became instantly eager to hear what you had to say, recognizing the immediate payoff of your ideas.
I plan to keep in touch with you and your contributions to the industry. Specifically, I intend to make my own local chapter aware of your availability and your strong message. In the meantime, best wishes for outstanding success in your groundbreaking work.
Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 2′]

Example 2: Letters for presenter

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date
Addressee
Address
City, State Zip
Dear Pat:
You were certainly a vivacious addition to the conference this weekend. You gave us so much more than the same old theories.
Specifically, I found the tips on proposals quite useful, never having given much thought to how an effective transmittal document could enhance the proposal itself. Then, too, I discovered I knew little about proposal structure itself. I’m looking for these two tips alone to bring me some otherwise lost contracts. To sum up, your presentation was one of the best “nuts-and-bolts” sessions I’ve ever attended.
If the occasion arises, you can be sure I’ll have your name on the tip of my tongue for other such managerial meetings.
Thank you for making the conference so worthwhile for me.
Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 3′]

Example 3: Sample thank you letter speaker

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Ms. Escalante:

It was such a pleasure to hear your presentation on ethics and business at last weekend’s Mid-Atlantic Business Conference. I have long felt the conference needed to address not only how to get ahead, but also how we, as business people, can get ahead “with dignity and honor.”

The ideas of dignity and honor no doubt came as a surprise to many of the participants, who were expecting yet another 5 Steps to Success type presentation. What you provided instead, was a forum to explore what dignity and honor meant, and how much they were or were not a part of our businesses. Redefining my own business’ mission statement in light of the comments you made helped me realize just how much room for improvement my business had.

Because of you, I am now more aware of my own business practices, and am readjusting accordingly. Thank you for an inspiring presentation.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 4′]

Example 4: Appreciation letter to speaker

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Mr. Banks:

I attended your seminar on Work Place Relations last week and was simply blown away by all the useful information you had to offer.

Recently, we have experienced strains in employee relations. As we have never had such problems before, I was unsure to how best to deal with them. Your calming lecture came at the perfect time. The scenarios you used and suggestions you made for solving problems suddenly made my own difficulties seem more manageable.

I appreciate the time you reserved at the end of the presentation for questions from the audience. Your insightful comments when I explained my predicament made me realize all offices experience such upheavals, and there are practical ways to get through them.

I am currently through the worst of the situation, thanks to your practical advice.

I understand that you also speak at individual businesses and have passed the seminar information you offered along to several colleges.

Your presentation was just what I needed to hear!

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 5′]

Example 5: Compliment letter to speaker

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State, Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State, Zip

Dear Amelia:

Your presentation on “Working with Non-Profits” was certainly a welcome addition to last week’s conference. Your delivery was so personable and inviting; I can’t remember when I’ve seen that much animation during the question and answer portion of a session.

I never realized there were that many services out there for placing disabled workers. Your guidance regarding the different groups and the requirements of each helped me narrow my list down to three groups to choose from.

Before I attended your session, I was at a loss as to how to proceed; we knew we wanted to work with a non-profit to place workers in our company but had no idea where to begin or who to call. I will certainly recommend you to all my colleagues who are interested in working with non-profits.

Thank you for such an informative, useful presentation.

Yours Truly,
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