Scheduling a meeting with people outside your company

TL;DR:

• Offer three specific slots, written in the other person's time zone as well as yours.

• You cannot see their calendar, so make it easy to say yes with one reply.

• After they choose, send a calendar invite with the link and a short confirmation.

Inside a company you can look at a colleague's calendar and drop in an invite. Outside, you cannot. The common failure is the open question: "When are you free?" That hands the other person the work of checking, proposing and converting time zones.

Do the work for them

A good request proposes a few concrete times and asks for a one-word answer. Three options is enough choice without being a puzzle. Spread them across different days and different times of day, because a person may have a recurring commitment you cannot see.

Before you send

• Decide the purpose and length. A 30-minute call and a 90-minute workshop are different requests.

• Know where it will happen: a video link, a phone number or an address.

• Find out the other person's time zone, from their email signature or a short question.

• Check your own calendar so every option really is free.

Step by step

1. Choose three slots: Different days, with at least one that avoids the start or end of the working day.

2. Write each with day, date, time and zone: Say "Tuesday 17 November, 10:00 New York (15:00 London)" in full. Never just "Tuesday morning".

3. State the purpose in one sentence: What you will cover and what you need from them.

4. Send and hold the slots tentatively: Mark them as tentative on your calendar if your app lets you, so you do not double-book.

5. When they choose, send an invite: Create the event, add them and put the meeting link in the location or description.

6. Confirm in one line: Reply with the final time in both zones and the link, then release the other held slots.

Worked example: offering three time slots

You are in New York and need 30 minutes with a contact in London, on a week in mid-November when New York is UTC−5 and London is UTC+0, so London is 5 hours ahead. Here is the message.

Subject: 30 minutes on the Q4 handover?

Hi Sam,

Could we spend 30 minutes on the handover plan? Here are three options:

1. Tue 17 Nov, 10:00 New York (15:00 London)
2. Wed 18 Nov, 11:00 New York (16:00 London)
3. Thu 19 Nov, 9:30 New York (14:30 London)

Reply with a number and I will send an invite with the video link.

Thanks,
Alex

Check the conversions. 10 + 5 = 15, 11 + 5 = 16, and 9:30 + 5 hours = 14:30. All three fall inside a normal London afternoon, which is the point: the options suit them as well as you.

When Sam answers "2", create the event for Wednesday 11:00 New York, add Sam, and paste the link. Then reply: "Booked for Wed 18 Nov, 11:00 New York / 16:00 London. Link in the invite." Release the other two held slots.

Mistakes to avoid

• Offering slots without time zones, or only in yours.

• Sending a link that opens a room you do not control, or forgetting the link in the invite.

• Proposing times when a daylight saving change makes the offset unusual that week. Check the offset for the exact date.

• Offering ten slots. Choice becomes work.

• Skipping the confirmation. A confirmation is the only record both sides share.

Choosing what goes in the invite

The invite is what people open on the day, so make it complete. Put the video link or address near the top of the description, not only in the location field, and repeat the time zone in the title when the guest is far away, for example "Handover call (10:00 New York / 15:00 London)". Add a one-line agenda and any document they should read, as a link rather than a big attachment.

Think about the guest's reminders too. Their own calendar will apply its default reminders. If the meeting matters, mention in your confirmation that you are looking forward to the call, and keep it short.

Keeping a record

Keep the thread. If the time is later disputed, the confirmation shows what you both agreed. If the meeting moves, send a new confirmation instead of editing the old one quietly, and update the invite so the guest's calendar changes with it.

When the other side wants to propose

Sometimes the guest replies with their own time instead of picking yours. That is fine. Check it against your calendar, convert it to your own zone to see what hour it lands on, and accept it if it works. If it falls at an awkward hour for you, say so politely and offer two alternatives near it. Agree on the zone in every message so nobody ends up an hour out after a clock change.

For a group of several outside people, the same method holds, but ask for blocked-out times rather than offering slots, because three options rarely suit five calendars. Then pick the slot that most people can make and tell the others in writing what they will miss and how to catch up.

If they do not answer

Wait a working day or two, then send one short follow-up that restates the options, or offers three new ones. If you hear nothing after that, ask whether someone else is better placed to meet.

Doing it faster

When you are unsure about the conversions, DuckyHelper can check them aloud while the email is on your screen if you press the key. You still press send yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Why three slots rather than one?

One slot is easy to refuse and starts a long back and forth. Three gives the person a real choice with little effort.

Should I use a booking link instead?

If you have one and the person is comfortable with it, yes. A written list of slots works everywhere with no setup.