What Do You Say When Someone Accepts an Invitation?

You have invited someone, and now, you hope the person will show up at your event. But, what do you say when someone accepts an invitation?

If someone accepts your invitation, you should first thank them and share any information about the event, such as dress codes, timings, or dining arrangements. Also, offer to be available for further questions.

Say Thank You

If someone accepts an invitation from you, it’s often a good idea to say thank you. The person could have declined your request. In fact, in some situations, the person may have to change their plans in order to accept your invitation.

Saying thank you shows them that you realize that they could have been somewhere else or been doing something else but they chose to spend their time with you.

Saying thank you helps to establish a better connection because it shows that you recognize that the other person is giving you the gift of their time. There are several ways in which you can say thank you and it’s important to choose one that is meaningful to you and to the other person.

In many cases a simple verbal thank you will be sufficient.

You could say:

“Thanks for accepting my invitation Mary.”

“Thanks for coming to celebrate my birthday John.”

“Thanks for taking the time to attend this meeting. It’s important for all of us to achieve our goals.”

You could also say thanks via email. If you’re responding to a good friend, you could say thanks via a text message or by using a messaging app.

A handwritten card is also a good way to say thanks. If you’re responding to someone who has accepted a formal invitation, a handwritten card can make a good impression.

For example, if someone will be attending your wedding, you can send a card like that to them.

Provide More Information on the Event

After someone accepts your invitation, you might need to provide them with more information about the event. For example, if someone accepts an invitation to visit your home, you might need to provide them with additional details on getting there if they’ve never been there before.

If someone has accepted an invitation to go running with you, you might need to tell them a little more about the trails that you plan to tackle. This will help them to mentally prepare for the run.

The information that you gave the person should help them to feel more confident about their decision to accept your invitation. It should help them to feel mentally and emotionally prepared for the experience that they will have.

For example, if someone is attending a child’s birthday party, you could let them know how many children will be in attendance. You could also let them know if any dietary restrictions will apply to the menu.

Providing information like that helps to avoid misunderstandings. If you invite someone to go jogging and you are also planning to invite 20 other people but the other person didn’t know, they wouldn’t be preparing for that in the same way that they would for a smaller group.

Request Additional Information from Them

After someone accepts your invitation, you should always use the opportunity to obtain any information that you think will help you to make the experience better for them.

For example, if they accept an invitation to do business with you, you might need to find out more about their business needs than you already know.

Similarly, if someone accepts an invitation to go on a date with you, you might ask what they would like to do. Finding out what their interests are would help you to plan an experience that you both would enjoy.

Make a Request

When someone accepts an invitation, you might be able to make a request to them. For example, if you know that someone will be attending a wedding reception, you could ask them to prepare a congratulatory speech.

You could also assign easy roles to people who will be attending once they’ve confirmed that they’ll be at the event. However, be careful with the requests that you make.

You don’t want to make any requests that are burdensome or detract from the experience that an individual would have.

For example, if you invite someone to go skiing with you for a weekend, you want them to enjoy that experience. One of your main aims is to spend quality time with that person.

In that situation, your request could be something simple that will enhance the experience that both of you will have. For example, you could remind them to rest or invite them to brush up on their skiing skills for free via a class that you would both be attending before the actual holiday.

Ask Them What Their Expectations Are

There are cases in which you might need to ask attendees what their expectations of an event are.

Asking about their expectations will help you to better prepare for them. This is usually the case when they’re responding to a business invitation.

For example, if you’re hosting a webinar and someone accepts an invitation to attend, you want to ensure that you’re meeting the needs of all the people who will be attending your webinar. In this case, you might send out a survey prior to the webinar and immediately after each person gives a positive response to the invitation.

You could ask them what they expect to learn from the event. You could also ask which speakers or topics they’re interested in or are planning to follow up on. You could even find out whether they’ve attended any of your in-person or face-to-face seminars in the past.

Similarly, if you invited people to an expo or business meeting, you want to ensure that you’re delivering information that will help you to seal the deal. In that case, getting as much information as you can about what they want to achieve from the expo or meeting will help you to achieve that goal.