I get invitations to speak every now and then; the actual invitation can be minimally informative at first. I might only learn the location, time, and a link to the website, which is not enough for me to provide an answer.
In order to be more consistent and considerate in how I approach invitations, I am trying to (semi-)standardize the questions I ask. I might even have sent you this blog as a result of an invitation you sent me (thanks for reading 🙌🏻).
Here’s a few questions I’d like to know the answers to if you’re inviting me - if any questions are not applicable, let me know too, please. If anything is unclear, let me know as I am keen on learning based on feedback.
Conference details
- 1.
What’s your code of conduct for this event?
- 2.
What are attendees paying to attend?
- 3.
How are other speakers at the conference being compensated (monetary or otherwise)?
- 4.
Will the conference sessions Ibe recorded and/or livestreamed?
Invitation details
- 1.
What is the session structure? Who are the other speakers?
- 2.
What’s the target audience for the session?
- 3.
What are you hoping to achieve by inviting me? (Informing, transforming, something else?)
- 4.
How will I be compensated for my labor (monetary or otherwise)?
- 5.
Do you expect me to attend the full conference or only this session?
- 6.
Can I extend this invitation to someone else I find more capable of providing a quality session?
Logistics
- 1.
Where & when is the session taking place (including timezone)?
- 2.
What is the technical and AV setup for this session?
- 3.
Would you like to have a prep call in case I agree?
- 4.
Will travel and lodging be paid by you?
I understand these 14 questions might seem like a lot - I'd rather ask these up front than to have an email thread fourteen messages long 😊
Big shoutout to Heidi Seibold, Bianca Kramer, Abby Cabunoc Mayes, Daan Rutten, Marko Schmitt, Cathleen Berger, Willem Frankenhuis, and Jeroen Bosman for helping me build this list of questions 💜