Commending Speakers
Guidelines and Alternate Phrases
State the general commendation about the speaker’s presentation.
What an informative talk you made last week!
Your session at last week’s conference made my week.
If nothing else had been of personal benefit, your presentation alone was well worth the price of my registration for last week’s conference.
Thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule to share your expertise with us at last Thursday’s luncheon.
I appreciate the time you took to work with us last week. Your presentation was sincere and urgent, as it should have been.
From all indications, your Tuesday workshop was a success. Thank you for so willingly giving your every effort toward planning and presenting an effective, well-received program.
We want to express our appreciation for the excellent job you did in both preparing and presenting your topic to our eager audience.
We appreciate so much your speaking to our group of CPEs last Tuesday about the need for continuing creativity in the field.
Thank you for making yourself available to our graduates last week in their tenth session this semester.
We have read the evaluations—you were a real favorite with the attendees at this year’s Boston convention.
We appreciate your sharing your expertise with us at our Tenth Anniversary Celebration in San Antonio.
Thanks so much for the outstanding presentation you made to our group this past week as we launched our organization into what we hope will be our finest year ever.
From the comments that continue to come into our office, your presentation last week at the IBA convention was a tremendous success.
Be specific with your praise. State at least two or three details you appreciated about the presentation. Were the speaker’s comments timely, fresh, well documented? Did you like his or her presentation skills—fast-paced delivery, use of humor, method of telling anecdotes? Single out one or two things that were particularly helpful to you personally or to your company. In other words, let the reader know you still remember the presentation!
Your enthusiasm was contagious; I felt my spirits lift two notches after hearing you speak.
Not only did you give us “the facts” but also you illustrated them in such a memorable way they really took on new meaning.
The visuals you selected to reinforce your key points certainly increased the effectiveness of what you had to say. They were so professionally prepared.
I certainly appreciated your humor. As you are well aware from the many speeches you give on this topic each year, it’s not a topic that, in and of itself, keeps people awake at night. Your presentation style made it come alive!
You did a superb job of keeping the audience’s attention under difficult circumstances.
The statistics you quoted were quite alarming and should call us all to immediate action. Would you do me the favor of telling me where I can get a copy of the article containing the numbers you cited?
What a superb speaker you are! Your delivery style is captivating—who could dare not listen to a message wrapped so beautifully with all the right words and gestures?
Your analogy of the malfunctioning elevator will stay with me for a long time. What a memorable way to present your “me-first” obstacle to good customer service.
The slides you used to illustrate our key points looked so professional. I’m sure they’re evidence of the long hours you spent in making the presentation meaningful to our group specifically.
Your levity added just the right mix to the seriousness of our situation.
Particularly to your credit was your ability to keep the audience tuned in with so many distractions outside in the hallway.
The statistics you quoted certainly impressed upon me the urgency of taking action now.
Your five how-tos were as instructive as your stories were motivational. And I’ve been one to say we need both—know-how and inspiration. Thanks for delivering large doses of both ingredients to our plan for success.
I was overwhelmed by your knowledge of the subject. You handled the audience’s every question with accuracy, honesty, and brevity. In fact, the multitude of questions should underscore again to you the audience’s genuine interest in your ideas.
To put it succinctly: You fired us up.
Share any new insight or benefit to you personally. Mention the ongoing value of what the speaker had to say.
I plan to use some of these tips in my job with Kemper Insurance.
The negotiation skills have already paid off in the purchase of a new car just last week.
Not to mention the immediate value in my current job, listing my completion of your course on my résumé should prove to be a real attention-getter. Your work has been held in such high regard in the industry.
Actually, your presentation shed new light on our glibly accepted industry standards. You’ve motivated me to do more reading on the subject.
In fact, you’ve moved me to immediate action about the issue. I’ve written my representatives in Congress to express my feelings about passage of the Hammer-Shold legislation.
I had no idea what you planned to say in last week’s New Orleans session would change my career goals and, in fact, my life.
I plan to make my notes on your presentation a permanent part of my sales manual.
Your ideas are going to work for me; my desk is looking better already.
Our group will never be the same. We can’t help but realize some return on the ideas you planted.
It’s been a week now, and I hear still comments in the cafeteria and hallways about your presentation. I think your ideas have already become a permanent part of our culture.
Mention any commendation you plan to pass on, if appropriate, to his or her superiors. Offer to refer the speaker’s name to others, if you’re in a position to do so.
I’m sure you’ll have no objection to my passing your name on to others who have need of a first-rate speaker.
I plan to keep your name on file should I have an opportunity to recommend you to another group looking for such a professional presentation.
Please know you will be the first person called when we again need someone of your expertise on the topic.
Perhaps you won’t object to my tooting your horn from time to time when I hear of similar groups looking for a speaker.
I’ve taken the liberty of passing on your name and my enthusiastic referral to our national headquarters.
Several other regions could certainly benefit from this program. I intend to forward information to them about how they can contact you directly.
I’ll assume you don’t mind if I want to drop my regional directors a note, suggesting they contact you directly for other follow-up programs.
If you ever need a reference for someone who has had his head in the sand for the past decade and doesn’t know who you are, give me a call. I’ll be happy to tell him what you’ve done for our organization.
Your name will be on the tip of my tongue for others looking for a unique presentation on this subject.
I plan to keep your brochure and my notes on your session permanently so I can share them with colleagues in the months to come.
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