How to send the perfect calendar or meeting invite (Template)

For any meetings or events, the reminder is sent through a calendar. Sending out a calendar invite is one of the most underrated tasks. Google calendar is the preferred calendar that almost everyone uses, and this article covers the template that can be used for a Google calendar invite, Apple calendar, and calendars which follow similar templates.

A calendar invite should act like the mini guide to the meeting or the event you are about to attend. Even the tiniest of details are essential. Calendar invites can be structured based on the type of event and who the invitees are. Internal meetings are different to external meetings where people outside the team are involved.

It is easy to follow a code for internal meetings as the team can always be made aware of it.

Meeting invite template for internal meetings:

Title: Have an internal format that you can use for any internal events. For example: In UnderstandBetter we follow UB/BM_BusinessPlan for board meetings to discuss the business plan of UnderstandBetter and UB/discussion_hire for any hiring related discussions.

Time: If 30 minutes is the estimated time that is required, block the calendar for 45 minutes. The 15 minutes is the buffer time you can provide yourself with.

Invitees: Keep the invitees’ list as minimal as possible and make sure to invite the right people. It is always easy to get confused between a customer and your teammate having the same name.

Meeting invite template for external meetings:

Title: Always make it easier for the other person to understand the purpose of the meeting and who it is scheduled with by just a glance.

For example: put your name first for them to understand who the meeting is with - UnderstandBetter <> Abc and add a prefix term that describes the type of meeting - ProductDemo: UnderstandBetter <> Abc

Time: Here the time has to be exactly what the external party wanted and not a minute more. This is to make sure you have the agenda and preparation to wrap up the meeting within the given time slot.

Invitees: Invite the external parties first, followed by the internal team, and keep it as minimal as possible.

Meeting Notes: Use a tool like Hearapp to organize your neeting notes, actionabnle items and agenda all in one place. Real-time and collaborative with all the attendees.

Meeting invite template for general meetings

Notes: One of the underrated columns in the calendar is the notes section. Have the context of the meeting written down in the notes section and keep it brief. This helps in recalling the context of the meeting to anyone who is running between the meetings or is having a busy day.

Call: By default the Google calendar sets the meeting link to Hangouts. Not all the meetings happen over Hangouts. Ensure to either turn it off or add in the correct link to the notes after the brief agenda.

Address: For in-person meetings, it is required to put in the address of the meeting place.

Repeat: For a recurring invite you can always select the repeat option and customize when you want the events to repeat.

Alert: An alert to the calendar invite is my favorite feature. For every event, I get reminded twice - 20 minutes and then 10 minutes before the event time. This helps me prepare for the meeting without any last minute hurry and the second alert always works like a charm.

Bonus:

• If you have multiple meetings, use colors to differentiate the events. Over time you get used to them, and it helps with understanding the type of meeting quicker.
• Check out itsycal - a calendar tool that can be pinned to your tab; simple, yet efficient.
• You can also use a tool like Hearapp to write your meeting notes, organize actionables and agenda items all in one place.

Calendar invites is all about helping you remember the event and also reminding you what the event is all about. Make sure you get the invites right and that the agenda of the meeting is convenient to grasp for the other invitees.