Guide to English Business Video Conferences and Announcements

Conferences are a very common type of event in business. They can be for educators, doctors, lawyers, or other professionals. They can be for people in a specific industry like food service, or as we saw here for people in the travel industry. They can also be open to the public for specialized interest like Comic Con or Science Section conventions. Doctors can be huge international events with tens of thousands of people, or they can be small regional events with a few hundred people. What they have in common is that they are for a specific audience. In the last lesson, we looked at an announcement of a business event that was also a social event. It was sent to a specific or limited group of people. This announcement, you just read, is for a conference which would be sent out more widely. There are several ways these types of announcements are similar. First, both have a name for the event. In the last lesson, we talked about the name. It should be a noun phrase, and it should be capitalized. Next, in both announcements, the WH questions are answered. Third, both types of announcements should be brief. Although a conference announcement usually has more information. Finally, both announcements end with a positive message. Those are the similarities.

Let's look now at some ways they are different. As we look through these next slides, think about what kind of conference you might want to organize. The vocabulary and ideas that follow will help you with that task. Let's look at a few ways. These two types of announcements are different. First, the conference announcement should include an exciting description of the conference. Remember, this announcement is to sell the conference. The conference is one of the most popular regional conferences on travel. The conference announcement must also tell the readers who the conference is for. Someone might think this conference is for people who like to travel. But it's not. It is designed for tours and professionals who want to learn about new trends and fresh ideas and travel. Conferences are often organized by professional organizations. The name of the organization is often used to introduce the conference. The Washington State Tourism Network is pleased to announce the 16th Annual Pacific Conference on Tourism.

Conferences include many presentations by people who attend the conference. If someone wants to present their ideas or research, they need to write a proposal about the presentation. Then they must submit or send the proposals to the conference committee. Information about proposals would be included in a conference announcement. Presentation proposals must be submitted online by June 30th. Conferences also have workshops or special classes. These may be included in the announcement or else on the website. Three pre-conference workshops are featured. Usually there is a special speaker called the keynote speaker or just keynote. The keynote speaker is usually well-known to the audience, so it will attract them to the conference. We are excited to present the keynote speaker, Robert Davis. Both of these are great ways to get an audience interested in a conference, interesting workshops or a good keynote speaker. These are often included in the announcement.

Another way to build interest is to say how many participants, presentations and exhibitors are expected. There is usually a lot more information for a conference than fits in an email message. Unlike our social event, the conference announcement usually has a link to the organization's web page. Don't forget to include the web address and the announcement. All conferences have organizers. It's usually a committee, but there is a chair just like in a meeting. This person often includes their name and contact information in a conference announcement. This person is busy, busy, busy. If you have other questions, please contact me at shoganatwstn.org, sincerely Susan Hogan conference chair. The people who attend a conference are called attendees or participants, not guests. Participants attendees are encouraged to register early.

So what do attendees do? They attend the conference. They submit proposals. They register for the conference. They respond by email to the organizer. They participate in workshops. They present at conferences. Notice the prepositions that follow those last four verbs. Number four, respond by or respond to participate in present at. Now let's take another look at the conference announcement. What do you notice is similar about the verb phrases? Maybe you notice that many of the verbs are passive. The passive form is very common in announcements. The conference is designed. Workshops are featured. Details are posted. Conference attendees are encouraged. Registration rates are listed. A buffet lunch is included. Presentation proposals must be submitted. The schedule can be downloaded. Members don't know and don't care. Who encouraged attendees to register or who posted the details on the website? That's when the passive form is useful.

Finally, there's certain information we don't need to include in a conference announcement. For example, there are no guests or spouses. People usually know that it is business attire. Attendees know there is a registration fee. Now let's just take a moment and look at a few alternatives with how to announce a conference. Announcing the conference is usually the first sentence. It is common to say, we are pleased to announce. We can replace that word pleased with any other positive adjectives like the following. We are happy to announce. We are excited to announce. We are delighted to announce. More formally, we can say, it is with great pleasure that we announce. But we are pleased to announce is probably the most common phrase that we see in business announcements of all kinds. Here are a few other options for introducing a conference. We are pleased to announce it is with great pleasure. We are hosting. We are sponsoring. We are presenting. For real, the ABC conference will be held. The ABC conference will take place.

Remember, the description of a conference should be exciting and inviting. In our conference announcement, they mentioned how popular it is. We can also mention how many people attended in the past, or we could use dynamic language to describe it. The conference is one of the most popular regional conferences on travel. Over 4,000 people attended this conference last year, and we expect even more this year. The conference brings together some of the most exciting researchers in this field. Remember that we also need to say who the conference is for. This is a chance to describe the conference further using positive language. We are still selling the conference. It is designed for tours and professionals who want to learn about new trends and fresh ideas in travel. This is an ideal conference for highly motivated sales professionals. The conference is among the best places for young entrepreneurs and innovators. There are a few simple ways to end the announcement. We look forward to seeing you in Seattle. We hope to see you all at the conference. I hope this has given you some good ideas for creating an announcement for a conference. We've talked about what to include in an announcement. We've also looked at vocabulary and language for creating an effective announcement. And now, at the end of this lesson, you'll have a chance to create your own announcement.