Event titles and honorifics verification
Names and titles appear in the programme, on name cards, on the stage script and in the emcee's mouth, and each one is a chance to get it wrong.
The short answer
Verify every title, honorific and post-nominal from the guest's own office or an official source the guest's office points you to, record where and when you got it, and keep one approved list that every document copies from.
Forms of address and order of titles are questions for the guest's office or protocol unit. Your team collects, checks for consistency and flags gaps. It does not decide what the correct form is.
Why one approved list matters
A name is typed into at least four places: the programme, the name card, the stage script and the emcee's notes. If each is typed from a different source, the versions drift apart.
One approved list, with a date and a source, stops this. Every document copies from it and nobody retypes from memory or from an old file.
What to collect for each guest
- Full name exactly as the guest's office wants it printed, including spelling and punctuation.
- Title and honorifics as the guest's office states them, in the order they state.
- Current post or role and organisation, with the date it was confirmed.
- How the emcee should say the name, including any pronunciation note from the office.
- Which language versions of the title are needed, such as English, Malay or Chinese, and who supplied each.
- Who in the guest's office confirmed the details and on what date.
Verification steps
- Request the details from the guest's office in writing, with a reply date. Use a short form so replies are comparable.
- Enter the reply into your approved list, with source and date. Do not fill gaps from memory or from the internet.
- Read the list back to the office as a single table and ask them to confirm. This catches typing errors on your side.
- Freeze the list before print files go out. Re-check the post and title in the week of the event, since roles can change.
- Send the confirmed list to the designer, the stage manager and the emcee, and mark older files as superseded.
Where mistakes usually enter
- Copying a title from a previous programme or a website that may be out of date.
- A change of role between invitation and event that nobody told the secretariat.
- A Malay or Chinese rendering supplied by a team member rather than the guest's office.
- Name cards printed from the first draft after the list was corrected.
- The emcee's script written from the programme text without checking pronunciation.
Worked example · Fictional example
An approved titles list for a conference programme
Fictional organisation and details, written to show the level of detail that is useful.
A fictional institute's secretariat is preparing the programme for a one-day conference with six senior guests. It sends a short form to each guest's office asking for name as printed, title and honorifics, current post, pronunciation note and language versions.
Four offices reply within the week. Two are chased. When the list is read back, one office corrects a post that changed after the invitation. The secretariat updates the list, marks version 2 approved and sends it to the designer and emcee. A guest whose office has not replied stays marked unverified, and the programme file keeps a placeholder for that line.
| Guest (as printed) | Source and date | Pronunciation note | Language versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Name A with title as supplied] | Guest's office, email received [date] | Provided | English, Malay | Confirmed |
| [Name B with title as supplied] | Guest's office, corrected [date] | None given | English | Confirmed, post updated |
| [Name C] | Not received | Unverified, placeholder kept |
Use this yourself
Titles and honorifics request form
Copy this form and send it to each guest's office. Keep the replies in one table and read it back before print.
- Name exactly as it should be printed (spelling, punctuation):
- Title and honorifics, in the order you want them shown:
- Current post and organisation:
- Name as it should be spoken by the emcee, with any pronunciation note:
- Language versions needed (English, Malay, Chinese) and who confirms each:
- Does the title change between the programme, name card and stage introduction? If yes, please state each form:
- Person confirming these details and date:
- Will any detail change before the event? If so, who should we ask nearer the date?
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- A small guest list and offices that reply quickly.
- One person who can keep the list and own every file that uses names.
- A programme where each name appears in few places.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Many guests across institutions, with titles in more than one language.
- Names and posts change during the planning period and files multiply.
- Nobody on your team has the time to chase replies and reconcile every document.
Want the titles list kept for you?
A conference project lead can send the request form to each guest's office, keep the approved list with sources and dates, and check programme, name cards and stage scripts against it before print. Send your current guest list and any titles you already hold, marked as unverified.
Questions organisers ask
Can we take titles from the guest's website or a past programme?
Use them only as a starting draft to show the office. Roles and titles change, so confirm each one with the guest's office and record the date.
Who decides the order of titles and honorifics?
The guest's office, or the host institution's protocol unit where there is one. Ask them and follow their written answer.
What if the guest's office does not reply before print?
Keep the item marked unverified and agree with the host institution whether to print a placeholder, hold the line or use the form already in the invitation. Do not guess.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.