How to Write an email inviting to a meeting

Given the fact that over 300 billion emails are sent and received every day, it’s no wonder that people can be “email fatigued”. That’s why it’s so important to write an effective, well-written, clear and concise email – you don’t want people to miss your meeting invitation email because it’s too long or unclear. Don’t worry – this wikiHow article will guide you through all the steps you need to take to write a meeting invitation email, such as effective subject lines, what to include in the body of your message, and how to use the application. Use a calendar to make things easier.

Table of Contents

Write a clear title

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Write a title that is short and relevant to the date and topic of the meeting. Include these details so everyone knows when the meeting will take place and what will be discussed without even opening the email. You could write, “August 12 meeting: New Reporting Guidelines”. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Warning: Ignoring the topic of the meeting may cause people to respond, questioning whether the meeting is relevant to their department or if they are required to attend, so make sure that you write clear topic!

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Ask for confirmation of participation in the header. If you need to know who will be in the meeting, ask for confirmation right in the title. That way, recipients will understand for themselves that they need to respond as soon as possible even before they open the email. You can write, “Friday HR meeting June 10th, please confirm ASAP”. ^{[2] X Research Source}

You can also write, “Please respond and confirm your participation: HR meeting June 10.”

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Let the recipient know if it’s an urgent meeting in the title. If it’s an urgent matter or time is tight and the meeting is urgent, add urgency to the title. For example, you could write, “Urgent meeting on Monday, February 31: Cybersecurity.” ^{[3] X Research Sources}

It is important to make notes on the title of the meeting as well as provide an idea of what they should expect.

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Specify whether participation is required or only recommended. If you work for a large company, the presence of several people probably won’t be necessary for every meeting. Please state if a department is involved or let recipients know if they are required to participate on the title. You could write, “Mandatory marketing meeting on June 10.” ^{[4] X Research Sources}

If the meeting is optional, you can write: “Suggested meeting on June 10 on effective research tactics.”

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Use words that express the full meaning in the subject line to avoid any confusion. Acronyms seem effective, but they are not as specific as the full wording and can be confusing. For example, SAP can mean “process systems and processes” or “project analysis and planning templates” depending on whether the recipient understands the meaning of the words you use. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

However, it won’t be a problem to use common abbreviations like “RSVP”, “HR”, and “IT”.

Compose email content

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Write a concise and friendly introduction with a short note. Introducing yourself is essential if you work for a large company or if you don’t know everyone. You should also mention in this short introduction if there are any documents or supplies that need to be completed and/or brought to the meeting. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Write a friendly or work-related opening. For example, “Hi everyone, I’m looking forward to the new show coming out next week!”

Tip: Remind recipients if they need to complete any tasks or bring anything to the meeting. For example, “Please remember to bring 4 copies of your supplier contact list.”

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List meeting dates and times on a separate line for emphasis. This is essential information for everyone in the meeting, so you need to write it clearly and stand out from the rest. Indent the top and bottom of the date and time information and/or bold the font. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Example: “October 6, 10:30 – 11:45 AM”
If the meeting is online, list the time zone so people in different time zones won’t miss it due to miscommunication. For example, you could write: “October 6, 10:30 – 11:45 AM (PST-Pacific Time)”

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List the location after the date and time. Highlight the location as well as the date and time—especially if you’re meeting at a new location, if the location is hard to find, or if you know some recipients who aren’t familiar with the location. For virtual meetings (via live forum or video chat), provide a link to the forum or video call for easy access. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Give instructions as detailed as possible. For example: “Please go to conference room 592 in the Timaren building (209 Nix Street). Room 592 is on the 2nd row of the building, so you’ll need to take the elevator up from the ground floor, exit on the 12th floor, and use the elevator on the south side of the building (to your left) to go up 59th floor”.

Use Outlook or the built-in calendar app

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Select “New Meeting” under the Home tab in Outlook. If your company uses a communications database with an integrated calendar application like Outlook, use it to set up meetings. It’s a popular app for communicating with everyone in the company. ^{[11] X Research Source}

If your company doesn’t use Outlook or anything similar, you can use work-related email to send invitations.

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Select the date and time from the “Scheduling Assistant” window. After creating a new meeting, a calendar window will appear. Click “Scheduling Assistant”, choose an available date and time for your meeting. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Make sure the meeting time is convenient for you and your attendees. Depending on your company’s app, you may be able to adjust your viewing settings to show everyone’s schedule (in addition to your own).

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Add attendees by entering their names or using the address book. Click in the text bar to enter a name, or look through the address book and select their name from the list. Use the “Scheduling Assistant” function to check the availability of others. ^{[13] X Research Source}

If the meeting schedule is not convenient for everyone, their names will be highlighted. The assistant will even show suggested time slots to fit your schedule and your participants.

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Set a start and end time for the meeting. Make sure that the meeting date is the one you previously selected, and click on the calendar to make any changes if necessary. Then, drag the down arrow to the right of the time list to select the exact start and end times. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Adding an end time shows the utmost respect for everyone’s time so they know what to expect and can plan travel or work to avoid meeting schedules.

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Select “Appointment” below the “Meeting” tab at the top of the screen. Selecting this button will return you to the general appointment screen and you will see the appointment you entered. Here, you will be able to add a title, location, and notes. ^{[15] X Research Source}

If you don’t see the data you entered on the Appointment screen, go back and repeat the steps until it appears.

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Be specific when entering titles, locations, and notes. Let the recipient know the gist of the meeting in a few short words (for example, “Testing a product coming soon”). Be specific about the location, providing directions if it’s not a regular meeting place or if the location is hard to find. Add any other notes (such as preparations) relevant to the meeting. ^{[16] X Research Source}

Provide the meeting’s address, even if you think they already know.
Click the “Submit” button when you are done.

Tip: Avoid overly generalized titles like “Discussion” as it tells people nothing about the purpose of the meeting. Instead, you could write, “Study and choose a supplier for a new product.”

Advice

When re-reading your email or invitation, make sure it’s short and straight to the point.
Use friendly and professional writing.
Double-check the recipient list to make sure everyone who needs to join the meeting is invited.
Enter the address in the “BBC” line if you want the recipients to not be able to see the addresses of everyone who receives the same email.

Warning

Do not send invitations or emails without a date, time, and location. It will annoy the invitees and you will get a bunch of responses asking for that information.
Do not use all capital letters, it will be interpreted as negative attention and very unprofessional.

Steps

Write a clear title

Compose email content

Use Outlook or the built-in calendar app

Advice

Warning

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