How to Write a Formal Invitation to a Guest Speaker

How to Write a Formal Invitation to a Guest Speaker

In this article, we would look at how to write a formal invitation to a guest speaker. The guest speaker of an event is not only an important factor in attracting participants, vivid marketing materials, but also represents the voice of your event. Therefore, the need to write a formal letter of introduction to your chosen guest speaker is of great import.

An invitation letter is a meeting document that is used to specially invite specific units or persons to participate in the meeting. It serves the purposes of etiquette and notification for academic seminars, consultation and demonstration meetings, technical appraisal meetings, trade fairs, product launches and so on.

Purpose of the invitation letter

A written invitation solves the assignment of sending message to the addressee about the event, confirm that the person is invited to the event, a reminder of the place and time of the event, indication of the exact address and provide signs of attention, especially if the company needs to leave a good impression of itself with a potential counterpart.

Features a letter of invitation

In writing a letter of invitation, the standard rules of business correspondence must be employed. It is necessary to apply an official business style of speech, and not to include a casual tone or expression in the text. Particular attention must be paid to grammar, in that, there should be no spelling, punctuation or syntax errors and most importantly refrain from ambiguous statements.

An invitation to a guest speaker may be coined as the company or institution pleases, as there is no legally approved format. Notwithstanding, the letter must include the following information:

1. About the sender of the letter: Full name, position, address, name of the organization (if the sender is a legal entity), its details. If the letter is drawn up on the company’s letterhead, then such information will already be included in the header.

2. Who is the letter for: Here indicate the full name, position, name of the organization and its details.

3. Letter heading: “Invitation” should be placed in the center.

4. Information about the event to which the addressee is invited: It is necessary to indicate the date, time, and place of the event. Additional data can also be indicated: dress code, contacts of the person responsible for the event or meeting guests, the necessary documentation and so on.

Also, if it is necessary to confirm the participation of the invited person, a request for this must be placed in the text and include information about registration fee or payment for participation for other participants.

A conference is a meeting where participants meet to discuss a specific issue or topic. Conferences are academic, technical, as well as business – they are attended by representatives of organizations whose activities are related to any branch of the economy. Such business meetings are an absolute must. They allow participants not only to discuss an important and relevant topic, but also to share practical experience. As a rule, many conferences have a long history and are held regularly, at least once or twice a year.

Participants who have received an invitation to the conference can become not only listeners, but themselves, if desired, make a presentation or report. Conferences allow participants to learn about innovative research and practices, as well as get ready-made solutions and technologies. Therefore, it is important that those organizations that work in related fields, for example, develop specialized software or create tools and equipment are invited.

The wider the circle of participants, the more interesting and useful such a business meeting will be for everyone. This is a great opportunity to establish new contacts, determine the sales market and suppliers. Therefore, the company or several companies organizing the conference should carefully consider who to include in the list of participants. This list can include both enterprises and organizations, and individuals, that is, authorities and experts on the issue that became the topic of the planned meeting.

And in the case of an annual held event, invitations to the conference should be sent out to the participants at least two to three months in advance. This period will be enough for the participant not only to be able to plan his affairs considering the upcoming meeting with colleagues, but also so that he can inform the organizers about his desire to speak at it with a report or presentation, as well as what he wants to exhibit has its own stand with product samples.

Work plan for organizing the conference helps to conduct a flawless event. Note, it is important for conference organizers to think over the text of the official invitation to the event. It should contain not only information about the topic, place, and time of the conference, but also proposals on possible formats for participation: as keynote speaker; as a listener and participant in discussions; as an ordinary speaker; as well as stand assistant who will present samples of its products on behalf of the company.

Invitations for the main speakers are drawn up individually. Such people, as a rule, plan their activities and, accordingly, they should be warned. They will both open the conference and conduct plenary sessions as experts. The letter of invitation to the conference sent to the address of the other participants should not be lengthy and wordy, but at the same time it should contain as much useful information as possible. Ideally, after the respondent has read it, no additional questions should arise.  In any case, the letter of invitation must contain: the phrase “we invite you …”, the name of the conference; time and place of the event; the program of the event or a link to a resource where you can see it; main questions; conditions of participation and additional information.

It is better to divide the text of the official invitation to the event into several themes in paragraphs. If you are sending a letter to a specific person, you should start it with a personal address by name and surname, for example: “Dear Dwayne Wood!” In the case when you invite an enterprise to participate, in the person of its representative or representatives whose personal data are unknown, it would be appropriate to contact: “Dear Sirs!” In the second paragraph, you should write: “We invite you to take part in the conference”, indicate its topic or list the issues that will be discussed at it, and then indicate the date and place where it will be held.

If there are many invitees at this business meeting and the plan is to hold sessions in sections, it makes sense to provide a link in the invitation, where you can get acquainted with the detailed program of the meetings. Note, if the invitation does not contain a personal appeal and begins with the words “Dear Sirs!”, In the next paragraph the word “you” should be written with a small letter. In the third paragraph of the invitation, you will need to list the most authoritative participants, whose presence is planned and agreed, as well as indicate influential organizations that will also take part.

It is also necessary to stipulate when and in what form it is necessary to send the abstracts to the organizers. The invitation will also need to specify the requirements for the design of the stands. If necessary, participants can be asked to fill out the questionnaires and send them. Moreover, there is no need to compose the text of such a letter for each participant individually. If we are talking about ordinary participants, then both specific individuals and organizations can be invited according to the same template. A template for an invitation to a conference, drawn up once, can be used in the future, it will only be necessary to make actual adjustments to it

How to send an invitation letter

An invitation letter to an event can be sent by hand or by courier, by post and via e-mail. For especially important events, you need to send the document in a valuable letter with a return receipt and a list of attachments. Bear in mind that the letter should be sent in advance so that it can arrive on time.

Final Thought

We hope you use the tips provided in this article to start getting commitment from your desired guest speaker.