Dear Meeting Guru, "How much notice should you give attendees of a meeting? Are there rules on the proper timeframe for notifying invitees?" Val

Blessed Meeter,

There are no set rules for when you should notify attendees about a meeting, but common sense and courtesy should prevail. Be kind to your meeting attendees when you send a meeting notice. Consider how much time they will need to review materials, create documents, brainstorm or conduct research in order to be fully prepared for your meeting. Do they need a week, three days or even just a day?

Remember that same-day meetings are generally unacceptable unless it’s an emergency meeting. People generally plan their day in advance and it’s unfair to expect them to cram an unexpected meeting into their busy day. It disrupts productivity and robs people of time they had probably planned to dedicate to something else.

You’ll accomplish more and your meetings will be more successful if you give attendees the time they need to prepare.

As American humorist and lecturer Josh Billings once said, “Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done.” Even if scheduling last-minute meetings is an acceptable practice in your office, people need time to prepare for meetings if they are going to be productive. Make sure you give a fair amount of advance notice to your meeting attendees.



Until next time… may good meeting karma always be with you.