Assignment task: As an assistant to Samantha Lin, you must help her refuse an invitation to speak at Hong Kong Shue Yan University.
The business associations on campus pooled their resources and decided to invite Ms. Lin to give a talk on campus about the importance of soft skills. A sought-after TV commentator and media personality, Ms. Lin owns The Protocol School of Hong Kong, a training center for etiquette consultants and protocol officers. For over two decades, she had been the chief of protocol at a prominent military base. Since acquiring The Protocol School of Hong Kong, she has established herself as a frequent contributor to Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and other important publications. An authority on business etiquette, she is often featured on radio and TV programs such as the Today Show, Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) Asia, and Bloomberg TV. A member of several business and professional associations, Ms. Lin receives many invitations to speak as an authority on business etiquette and as an award-winning entrepreneur and leader. Ms. Lin likes to speak to young students, mostly pro bono or for a nominal fee, but during the spring semester she is too busy with starting her new location in Singapore, with organizing a meeting of the Women Presidents Organization, and with writing a book on dining like a diplomat. Ms. Lin might be able to deliver her presentation some other time, or she could send Robert Hickey, her deputy director and senior trainer.
In your task: In Ms. Lin's name, refuse the invitation but suggest an alternative. Send your reply (choose between a letter or an email format) to Unit 1503, 15/F, Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 Harbour Road, Hong Kong or email address: