The fastest way to settle when we can meet is to ask one clear question with a short date range and a deadline, and to collect the answers in one place. An open question such as "when is good for everyone?" gets slow, partial replies. A bounded question gets answers you can count.
What a good ask contains
| Part | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| The meeting | People decide how much to move for it | "Kickoff for the billing work" |
| The length | A 30-minute gap is no use for a 90-minute meeting | "60 minutes" |
| The date range | An open range invites "any time", which is not an answer | "Mon 12 to Fri 16" |
| Where to answer | Replies scattered over chat and email cannot be counted | One poll or one thread |
| The deadline | Without one, the last reply never comes | "By Wednesday at noon" |
| What you will do next | People answer when they know the question will be closed | "I will send the invite Friday" |
Two more parts help when they apply. Say who must attend if the meeting cannot run without certain people, so the others know the time may bend around them. Say whether the meeting is in person or on a call, because travel changes what "free" means.
Put the action first. People read the first line of a message and skim the rest. "Please mark your free times by Wednesday noon" belongs above the background on why the meeting exists.
A weak ask, repaired
Here is an ask of the kind most groups send.
Hey all, we should get together about billing at some point. When works for everyone?
It names no length, no dates, no place to answer and no deadline. Each reader has to guess how much time to offer and which week is meant. The easy replies are "I am flexible" and nothing at all. The one person who names a time has made a proposal, and the thread turns into a debate about that proposal.
Now the same ask with the six parts in place.
Billing kickoff, 60 minutes, next week (Mon 12 to Fri 16).
Mark every time you are free in the poll below by Wednesday at noon.
I will send the invite on Wednesday afternoon for the slot most of us can make.
It is about as long as the first. The difference is that every reader knows what to do, where to do it and by when. Nobody has to go first, because nobody is reacting to anyone else. The organizer has also made a promise, which is the part people skip. An ask with no stated next step reads as a question that may never be closed, and people treat it that way.
Ask for free time, not for a vote
"Does Tuesday at 2 work?" gets a yes or a no, and a no sends you back to the start. "Mark every time you are free" gets you the whole picture in one round. When to meet: find a time that works for everyone explains why counting overlap beats trading proposals.
The wording matters. "When would you like to meet?" asks for a preference, and people name one or two slots. "Mark every time you could make" asks for a fact, and people give you the full list. The second gives you far more overlap to work with.
A vote is still the right ask when the options are fixed before you start. If the room is free on three afternoons only, list the three and ask people to tick all they can make.
Templates you can copy
Replace the meeting, the dates and the names. Keep the order of the lines.
Two or three people
A direct question is enough. Offer a narrow range and promise a quick decision.
Can you do 30 minutes on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon?
Tell me every hour that works and I will pick one today.
A group in chat
Point at one place to answer.
We need 60 minutes for the billing kickoff next week.
Mark every time you are free in the poll below by Wednesday at noon.
I will pick the time most of us can make and send the invite on Wednesday afternoon.
A group by email
Email suits people in other companies. Put the length and the week in the subject, so the ask survives without the body.
Subject: Finding a time for the billing kickoff (60 min, week of the 12th)
Hello all,
Please mark every time you could join at this link: <link>
The grid shows times in your own time zone.
I will close it on Wednesday at noon and send an invite for the slot most of us can make.
Keep the time zone line only if it is true of your tool. If the grid shows one fixed zone, name that zone instead.
A client or someone senior
Do not send a busy person a grid of forty cells. Offer a few specific times and one way out.
Could we take 30 minutes on the billing rollout next week?
I can do Tuesday 10:00 to 12:00, Wednesday after 14:00, or Thursday morning, all London time.
If none of those suit, send me two times that do and I will fit around you.
A meeting where some people are required
We need 45 minutes to decide the launch date. Maya and Tom need to be there.
Please mark every time you are free next week in the poll by Tuesday at 17:00.
I will pick the best slot that Maya and Tom can both make.
A reminder
Three of us have answered the kickoff poll. Sam and Priya, could you add your times by noon tomorrow?
When nothing overlaps
No slot next week has all of us. The best is Thursday at 14:00, which five of six can make.
Lena, that one misses you. I will send you the notes and we can talk for 15 minutes on Friday.
If anyone can open up Tuesday morning, tell me today and I will use that instead.
The announcement
The billing kickoff is Thursday 15 at 14:00 London time, 60 minutes. The invite is on its way.
Thanks for answering. The poll is now closed.
Choose where to ask
Ask where the group already talks. A question in a tool people open once a week waits a week.
| Your group | Ask in | Collect answers in |
|---|---|---|
| Two or three people | A direct message | The same conversation |
| One team in one chat workspace | The team channel | A poll in the channel |
| People from several organizations | One email to everyone | A grid behind a link |
| A large group with a few possible times | The channel or list they all read | A vote on the listed options |
| One busy person and you | A direct message or email | Their reply |
Use one place only. If you ask in chat and again by email, you will get answers in both, and you will have to merge them by hand.
For a group outside your chat tool, how to make and share a when to meet link covers the link itself. To pick the dates, hours and slot length for the grid, see when to meet survey: what to ask and how to set it up.
Set a deadline people will keep
A deadline works when it is close, exact and tied to an action.
- Close. One or two working days is enough for most groups. A week invites people to put it off, and by then their free time has changed.
- Exact. "By Wednesday at noon" can be met or missed. "Soon" and "end of week" cannot.
- Tied to an action. "I will send the invite on Wednesday afternoon" tells people the question will close with or without them.
State the deadline in one time zone and name it when the group spans several. Avoid a deadline that falls in the middle of someone's night.
Send the ask early in the working day of most of the group. A message sent at the end of the day is buried by morning.
When replies do not come
Silence has a few usual causes, and each has its own fix.
- The person did not see it. Send one reminder a day before the deadline. Name the people who have not answered, and repeat where to answer.
- The ask was unclear. If two people reply with questions, edit the original message or reply under it with the missing detail. Do not start a new thread.
- The person is away. Check before you chase. If they are required, move the date range. If not, decide without them.
- The person does not think they are needed. Say whether they are. "Optional for you, but mark your times if you want to join" is a fair line.
After one reminder, stop. Decide with the answers you have, and tell the people who did not answer what was chosen. A second and third reminder teaches the group that the deadline was not real.
If you are the one being asked
The same rules run in reverse when someone asks "when can you meet?".
Answer with ranges, not with "any time". "Tuesday 10:00 to 12:00 or Thursday after 14:00" can be used at once. "I am flexible" sends the question back.
Give more than one option, and say the time zone if there is any doubt. Reply by the deadline, even if the reply is "none of these, here are two that work". If your plans change after you answer, update your answer in the same place, and tell the organizer if the deadline has passed.
Close the question
Pick the slot with the most people. If someone cannot make it, tell them directly and offer notes or a recording. Announce the time in the place you asked, then send the calendar invite the same day. The announcement template above has the four things to include. The time with its zone, the length, the invite, and the fact that the question is closed.
If the meeting needs a date first and an hour second, settle the date before you ask about times. How to find a date when everyone is available has that method.
Common mistakes
- Asking "when works for everyone?" with no range. Each person waits for someone else to go first.
- Burying the ask. Three paragraphs of context, then the question. Lead with the question.
- Asking twice in two places. The answers split.
- Changing the range after people answer. The early answers no longer match the question. Start a new ask and say that the old one is void.
- Thanking nobody and announcing nothing. People who answered and never heard the result answer more slowly next time.
- Asking again every week for the same meeting. If the meeting repeats, ask once about a typical week and fix a standing time.
Questions about asking
How far ahead should I ask?
Far enough that calendars still have gaps, and near enough that the answers stay true. For a routine team meeting, asking this week about next week works well. For a meeting with travel or outside guests, ask two or three weeks ahead and send a calendar hold as soon as you choose.
Should I offer my own times first?
For one or two other people, yes. It saves a round. For a group, mark your own free time in the poll like everyone else. If you announce your preferred slot in the ask, people agree with it to be polite, and you learn less.
Is it rude to name the people who have not answered?
Not if the tone is plain. "Sam and Priya, could you add your times by noon tomorrow?" is a request, not a complaint. A reminder addressed to everyone is easier to send and much easier to ignore.
What if someone answers "any time works"?
Take them at their word and count them as free for every slot. Then confirm the chosen time with them before you send the invite, because "any time" often has exceptions the person forgot.
In Slack, the ask and the answer can be one message
If the group shares a Slack channel, Meeting Mouse turns the ask into a poll. /meet Billing kickoff posts one message with an Add my availability button, each person marks their free slots in their own time zone, and the message lists the best times by headcount. A person who is free at none of the times can say so with an "I can't make any of these" button, which is an answer you can count.
The poll has no deadline setting, so write the deadline in the channel yourself. When it passes, the organizer picks the final time from a menu on the message, and a thread reply carries an Add to Google Calendar link. See how Meeting Mouse works.