Overview
During a live meeting, you can manually send text message reminders to registered speakers directly from the Speakers tab. This is useful when you want to notify speakers that their agenda item is coming up, or send a custom message to a specific group of speakers.
Step 1: Open the Speakers Tab
Open the meeting in Meeting Admin.
Click the Speakers tab.
Select one or more agenda items from the left sidebar by checking their checkboxes. This filters the speaker list to only those registered for the selected items.
Step 2: Click Send Reminder
Once agenda items are selected and eligible speakers exist, the Send Reminder button appears in the top-right area of the speakers panel. It shows a count of eligible in-person and remote speakers.
Click Send Reminder to open the SMS Reminder drawer.
Step 3: Configure the Message
The SMS Reminder drawer provides the following controls:
Audience Selection
“Send To In-Person Speakers” — checkbox with a count of eligible speakers (and overflow, if any)
“Send To Remote Speakers” — checkbox with a count of eligible speakers (and overflow, if any)
Check or uncheck these to control which audience receives the text.
Message Text Editors
Depending on your audience selection, you will see up to four message fields:
In-Person Message — pre-filled with your board-level in-person template
In-Person Overflow Message — appears only if overflow speakers exist
Remote Message — pre-filled with your board-level remote template
Remote Overflow Message — appears only if overflow speakers exist
You can edit any message before sending. Each field has:
A character counter (max 480 characters / 3 SMS segments for manual sends)
An “Insert field” dropdown to add merge field placeholders
From Number
Select which registered SMS number to send from using the dropdown. Only registered numbers appear in the list.
Recipients Preview
Expandable sections show exactly which speakers will receive the message. Ineligible speakers (no phone number, opted out) are listed separately with the reason they will be skipped.
Step 4: Send
Click Send Reminders. Messages are sent immediately in the background. You will see a confirmation once the send completes.
Available Merge Fields
Placeholder | Description |
| The agenda item or section title |
| The meeting date (e.g., March 28, 2026) |
| The meeting start time (e.g., 6:00 PM) |
| Dial-in phone number |
| Phone access/conference code |
| Virtual meeting URL |
| Speaker’s overflow queue position |
| Estimated speakers that can be accommodated |
Who Is Eligible?
A speaker is eligible for a manual SMS if they:
Have a phone number on file
Have not opted out of SMS notifications
Have not already been notified for the same agenda item(s) in this meeting
The system automatically deduplicates — if a speaker registered for multiple selected agenda items, they receive only one message.
Example
You select “Public Comment Period” in the sidebar. Three remote speakers are eligible. Using the default remote template, they would each receive:
It's almost your turn to speak on Public Comment Period. Please dial (555) 123-4567 with code 4821 or join at https://publicinput.com/CityCouncil0328.
Viewing Send History
After sending, you can view the results by clicking a speaker’s name to open their profile drawer. The SMS History section shows each message sent, with:
Timestamp
Message text
Delivery status (Sent, Delivered, Failed, Undelivered, or Skipped)
Trigger type (“Manual” for messages sent from this drawer)