Invitation letter template
Three texts for hosts: the invitation to a speaker, the logistics follow-up once they accept, and the announcement for WeChat and mailing lists.
A host writes three things for each seminar. Copy the block you need, fill in the {placeholders}, delete what does not apply. The invitation goes out from the host PI on behalf of the coordinators: the network name and roster link introduce us, your own name makes it personal. The timeline is in Hosting a seminar; what the speaker reads on our side is the speaker kit.
1. Invitation to a speaker
Send it from your institutional address, with {N} and {institutions} taken from the roster on the day you write, so the numbers are current. Keep it short: a busy person decides whether to reply within two lines.
Subject: Invitation to speak, GBA-CCN Network seminar series
Dear {Title} {Surname},
I am writing on behalf of the Greater Bay Area Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience Network (GBA-CCN Network), a network of {N} computational and cognitive neuroscience labs across {institutions} in the Greater Bay Area. We run a joint online seminar series, and we would be delighted if you would give a talk.
We are inviting you because {one sentence on their work and why it matters to labs here}.
The format is a 45-minute talk followed by 15 minutes of questions, on a Thursday at 16:00 Hong Kong Time (UTC+8), on Zoom. If you would like to visit in person, we can host you at {Institution} and run the session as a hybrid event. Talks are recorded only with your written consent. We are a volunteer network and cannot offer an honorarium; if you visit, {Institution} may be able to cover travel.
Would any of these dates suit you: {Thursday 1}, {Thursday 2} or {Thursday 3}?
Who we are: {site_url}labs/. What to expect: {site_url}docs/speaker-kit/.
With best wishes,
{Host name}
{Lab}, {Institution}
on behalf of the coordinators of the GBA-CCN Network2. Logistics follow-up once accepted
Send this as soon as the speaker confirms a date. Give the deadline as a date, not “three weeks before”. For a speaker outside UTC+8, the time-zone line is what prevents a no-show.
Subject: GBA-CCN seminar on {date}: what we need from you
Dear {First name},
Thank you for agreeing to speak on Thursday {date} at 16:00 Hong Kong Time (UTC+8). In your time zone that is {local date and time}; please tell me if that is not what you expected.
For the announcement and poster, please send by {date three weeks before the talk}:
- a title
- an abstract of 150 to 250 words
- a short bio, three to five sentences
- a photo (we crop it square)
Your slot is 45 minutes plus 15 of questions. {A 15-minute talk by a student from our lab opens the session at 16:00; yours starts at about 16:15 and we finish by 17:15.} Zoom link: {Zoom link}. If Zoom fails for mainland participants we switch to Tencent Meeting: {Tencent Meeting link}. We will test both for ten minutes at {time} on the day.
Two questions; one line each is enough:
1. May we record the talk and post it on Bilibili and YouTube? Please reply "yes, record" or "no recording".
2. May we share your slides as a PDF with attendees afterwards? Please reply "yes, share slides" or "no slides".
If only part of the talk may be recorded, say so and we will stop there.
Best wishes,
{Host name}3. Announcement for WeChat and mailing lists
Post this to the announcement list, the WeChat group and your department list a week before the talk, and again that morning. Attach the poster PNG from the Render poster workflow (run it with the event id and download the PNG artifact). The Chinese header line is optional: keep it for WeChat, drop it for English-only lists. The meeting link never goes in the post.
大湾区计算与认知神经科学网络 · 系列讲座
GBA-CCN Network seminar
{Speaker name}, {Affiliation}
"{Talk title}"
Thursday {date}, 16:00 Hong Kong Time (UTC+8), online
Link goes to the announcement list; reply to this message to receive it.
Abstract and poster: {site_url}events/{event-id}/