If you work as an administrative professional, chances are, you send out meeting invites.

The question is: Are you sending great meeting invites?

When a meeting attendee opens an invite, they should have all the information they need to effectively start the meeting. When sending a meeting invite, here are some things to consider – pick and choose things that are appropriate for your business or process.

Note: Not all of these features may be applicable to you, or you might use a different calendar tool (ex. Google Calendar), however, the end goal is still the same. Take the time to include the right information. Your people will thank you for your thoroughness.

>>> Attendees Field

Including the correct attendees is a given. Don’t forget to check (and double-check) the list.

If using Outlook, include the appropriate attendees on the ‘required’ or ‘optional’ lines. (How-To)

Don’t forget to include room invites (if your company utilizes this feature).

>>> Subject Field

Without being too wordy, describe what the meeting is. Simply putting “1:1” isn’t enough. Add more detail – “1:1 Mike Garrison & John Harper”. Instead of “Travel Discussion”, try “2018 Travel Policy Discussion”. You get the idea. If there are multiple people in the office with the same first name, be sure to include last names as well. When I am sending an invite to an external client/customer/other, I always include the first and last name of each individual in the subject. If there are multiple people on the call, I try to include the names of external attendees in the body of the invite.

The goal is for the attendee to see the subject and know what the meeting is without having to open the invite. This isn’t always the case, but if you can, do.

>>> Location Field

The location field should be information rich. It should list things like the location address (use full address), conference room name, which floor the room is located on (if applicable), dial-in numbers, bridge lines, passcodes, etc. At a glance, an attendee should know where or how they can participate in the meeting. Why the full address including city and state? If someone is on their mobile device, they can one-click the address for easy access directions. Why add the floor? If people are unfamiliar with the building layout, having the floor available in the location field can help people navigate quickly.



>>> Date, Time, & Timezone

Confirm the date and time are accurate.

If time zone mode is on, confirm it is set for the correct time zone.

If scheduling attendees in different time zones, be sure it isn’t too late or early there. One of my favorite tools for time checking is World Time Buddy.

>>> Body of Invite

This area should be clean and full of the information needed for all invitees. This could include: Notes about the invite Context of the meeting Who an attendee should contact with questions (if not the person who’s calendar it is originating from). This might be the admin or assistant, for example Details around food being served Attachments or links to information needed for the meeting Location (should say the same thing as in the location field) Contact information: dial-in numbers for domestic and international (if applicable), bridge lines, passcodes, access codes, etc. Are you using a screen sharing service, such as WebEx? Be sure to include the links or info. Check to make sure the link works Is this this video conference? It may be beneficial to include that mention

Pro-Tip: If you are in the U.S., you can include one-touch cell dial-ins for conference lines. So if someone was dialing in from their mobile device, all they would have to do is touch the cell created hyperlink and it will call the conference line and automatically dial the bridge or passcode. For example : Dial: 888-555-1234 / Passcode: 9876# One-Touch : 8885551234,,9876# will turn into a hyperlink on U.S. phones. See the picture below to see how I set this up. The commas are converted to pauses when dialing from a mobile device. I have not researched for international options, so they might exist! Find more information about this process here

If you are in the U.S., you can include one-touch cell dial-ins for conference lines. So if someone was dialing in from their mobile device, all they would have to do is touch the cell created hyperlink and it will call the conference line and automatically dial the bridge or passcode.

What are your favorite invite tips? Share in the comments below!

Great Meeting Invite Example

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