[tab name=’Guidelines’]

Guidelines : Extended Invitation to Speak

Extending Invitations to Speak

Guidelines and Alternate Phrases

• Invite the person to speak at a specific event, giving the time, place, and purpose of the event.
• Your name has come to us as one who has extensive experience in managing accounts for retirement investment. We’d like to invite you to address our monthly meeting of senior citizens at Bondale Resort Center on April 5. The topic will be “Investing Opportunities Without the Trouble.” We’ll serve lunch at noon and then ask you to speak from 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., followed by a 15-minute question-answer session.
• Your presentation will kick off the “roast” we have planned for Hank Marshall, who will be retiring January 14.
• On August 28 at a regional managers’ meeting, we’d like you to give an hour’s overview of the new InfoMart concept and marketing campaign. If you can help us out, your presentation will begin at 4:00 p.m.
• Give details about the audience and entire program so the speaker can make his or her comments appropriate to the group: Are there other speakers covering similar topics? Will there be a question-answer period? Can you duplicate the speaker’s handout materials? What is the time limit?
• You will be one of six speakers covering the following aspects of a good marketing campaign.
• In past years, we have had speakers to cover…. This year, we are wanting a complete change of pace. We’d like you to address the issues relating to….
• The audience is basically looking for practical “how-tos” rather than theory.
• We expect a large audience of around 200, so small-group interaction might be difficult.
• Please provide a handout covering your key points as back-on-the-job reference material for our supervisors. May we also suggest a biography from you? We’ll be happy to duplicate any materials for you.
• Be clear about any honorarium, fee, or travel expenses involved. If you offer no payment, point out any other benefits the speaker may value: publicity, follow-up business contacts, or an opportunity to sell products such as books or audiocassettes.
• Because our organization is a non-profit group, we have no budget for an honorarium. We will, however, be happy to reimburse you for all of your travel expenses.
• We encourage you to bring along any books or audiocassettes our attendees may want to purchase. We’ll be happy to have a table set up for that purpose and someone to help with the sales of such items.
• Although we wish we could offer a fee for your presentation, we simply cannot. We are hoping, however, you will find sufficient interest among the attendees for follow-up business that the meeting will be well worth your time.
• We can offer you an honorarium of $500 for the evening’s talk.
• Can you tell us what your fee for such a presentation is?
• Request a reply by a certain date.
• We will appreciate your response by January 4.
• If you must disappoint us by not accepting our invitation, we will need your answer by January 4 in order to make alternate plans.
• Would you please let us have your answer by January 4?
• Please call us by January 4 if you will be able to address the group.
• Express eager anticipation of the reader’s acceptance.
• We are hoping you can work us into your busy schedule.
• We will look forward to hearing from you.
• Our audience will be so delighted to know you can accept the invitation.
• We’ve heard what a dynamic speaker you are and eagerly await your “yes.”
• Please let us know whether we can count on you to make this our most successful program to date.

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[tab name=’Example 1′]

Example 1: Sample letter for Invitation to speaker

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Hartz:

We are hoping you can help make our upcoming June 6 International Community Dinner a great success. We’d like to ask you to address our distinguished group, including well-known political figures in both state and federal government and high-ranking executives from major corporations around the state.

Specifically, we want you to address the international monetary situation, zeroing in on the roles that politics and economics play. We will have one other speaker, Vernon Allen, founder and chairman of American Surety Corporation. Mr. Allen epitomizes, just as you do, the ideals of business success and public responsibility on which our annual service award has been based.

In short, we want the evening to be both enlightening and enjoyable. Your speech, I’m sure, will accomplish both purposes.

We expect about 90 guests to join us for a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m. in the Princess Room of the Republic Hotel. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. Your speech will begin at 8:30 p.m. Mr. Allen will speak at 9:15 p.m. Then we will ask you both to make yourselves available for a brief question-answer session with the audience. We hope to conclude the evening by 10:30 p.m.

Because of the importance of the international business meeting, we hope your own company can underwrite the cost of your time and travel to the meeting. If that is not possible, please let us know.

If you need any special room arrangement or equipment for your presentation, we will be happy to take care of those details for you.

We will be delighted if you can give us an answer by March 31.

We know our audience will be eager to hear your views and hope you–and any of your associates who wish to join you for the evening–can take away important ideas for your own future business efforts.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 2′]

Example 2: Extended invitation to speak samples

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Sharon,

Just a brief note to ask if you would consider presenting a one-hour workshop on “How to Get Your Ideas Published” at our October 12 management meeting. Max Smith heard you speak at the University of Houston’s Southwest Writers Conference and said you gave at least two days’ worth of valuable information in your 30-minute slot.

Our audience, however, will be quite different from those attending that conference; they will be PR professionals who routinely publish trade journal articles. They’re hoping you can give them help in placing articles in popular magazines.

As always, we have a whopping big budget of $75. Would you give us a cheap thrill anyway? We need an answer by September 1. If you can’t accommodate us, we’ll have to go for second best. Thanks. I’ll be eager for a “yes.”

Regards,
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[tab name=’Example 3′]

Example 3: Letter to speaker for invitation

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Ms. Sweeten:

Your name has come to us as one who has extensive experience in managing accounts for retirement investment. We would like to invite you to address our monthly meeting of senior citizens at Bondale Resort Center on April 5. The topic will be “Investing Opportunities Without the Trouble.”

We’ll serve lunch sharply at noon and then ask you to speak from 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., followed by a 15-minute question-answer session.

The audience will be people with diverse past work experience and financial management know-how. As you can imagine, some have sizable assets to invest; others do not. But we do think it will be worth your time in future “prospecting” to have these senior citizens become acquainted with you and your firm. I also suggest you bring business cards for those who will want to pass on your name to family members taking care of their finances.

If you can accept our invitation, please let us hear from you by the week of February 6. Should you like to speak to our group but simply find the date inconvenient, let us know so perhaps we can arrange to schedule your talk at a later monthly meeting. We will be delighted to receive a “yes.”

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 4′]

Example 4: Extended Invitation to Speak

Memorandum

TO:

FROM:

DATE:

SUBJECT: Invitation to Speak at the May 14 Computer Walk-through

Would you schedule us a favor? We’d like you to make a presentation at our May 14 Computer Walk-through in the computer room, 10th floor. Your one-hour (8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.) talk on basic computer terminology, capabilities, and limitations will provide background for the remainder of the day’s activities.

If you would agree to conduct the presentation, please phone me by Thursday, April 22.

If you agree to speak, your audience will be primarily the 25 field operators assigned to our Omaha branches. The room will be adequate for seating and will allow “milling around” to examine the equipment. Any visuals you may want to use will need to be projected large enough to be seen from a distance of 40 feet. Also, we’d like you to allow about 15 minutes at the end of your talk for audience questions. After your presentation, Bill Waddel and Tim Johnson will be leading the group through the area; please feel free to contact them about any “groundwork” they’d like you to lay.

You are welcome to come early at 7:30 a.m. to have coffee and donuts with the group during their get-acquainted period and to stay after your presentation and join other activities.

Should you need any help in setup arrangements or in reserving audiovisual equipment, contact my assistant, Muriel Brown, at ext. 550. In my absence, Muriel will also be glad to answer questions about the content expectations, format, and/or audience.
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