Decline invitation speaking

Rejection letters are written to inform a company or organizer that you cannot accept their request or have to turn it down. It is best to bring bad news directly, but you can bring it politely and choose to explain a good reason. Conveying rejection can be difficult because most people do not like to give or receive rejections. Saying what you want, without hurting the recipient can be a challenge.

How to decline an invitation to speak? 

After receiving your rejection the people that are affected might need to find an alternative solution on short notice. If you send a professional but well-drafted rejection letter to them, this will soften the blow and encourage them to keep trying, and also make them aware you are worth to contact again in the future for other events. Consider the following when writing a decline letter.

Writing suggestion for a decline letter to an invitation:

1. Show appreciation for the invitation, and mention specifically what you were invited to do;
2. Mention the specific event on the specific date;
3. Express regret that you are unable to accept the invitation, briefly mentioning the reason without elaboration;
4. If appropriate, suggest a qualified replacement;
5. Your rejection letter must carry a tone of appreciation while expressing regret;
   
6. State your decision politely and assertively;
7. Provide the right reasons for it. If you are rejecting a job application, for instance, give a genuine reason for it and encourage the recipient to apply for other positions;
8. Express wishes for the event's success;
9. Provide a referral to somebody in your network that could do the speech instead.
   

Sample sentences when declining an invitation to speak:

• My sincere thanks for the thoughtful invitation to speak at your event.
• I am sorry that my travel plans will take me away during that week, so I will not be able to be part of the program;
• Otherwise, I would be pleased to accept your invitation.
• If you do not have another person in mind, you might consider inviting John Doe, who recently returned from an assignment
• I think you would find his insights interesting. 
• In any case, I wish you a remarkably successful evening.
• Feel free to contact me if you have any future events.
• Thank you very much for your consideration and time.

In many cases, people choose not to write rejection letters at all. However, this is not a professional way. Simply just dropping communication with the concerned person is considered rude and won't help you in the future as well. Rejection letters are important because they help build trust and develop goodwill between the parties involved.

This letter template is provided absolutely free. Easy to edit, print, share this document. Save this sample letter to decline an invitation in a polite way now and send your response today.