How to Create a Meeting Announcement

An effective meeting announcement is a key to high attendance and interest in the upcoming event. Everything counts here — from the header to the tone of voice. And if you think it’s only a matter of conferences and significant events, you should check out the statistics. When it comes to routine meetings, about 64% of employees anticipate well-organized gatherings more. A meeting announcement is just one of the steps in arranging an event, but it sets the mood and helps people prepare. Whether you have to announce a huge event or a small get-together, our article will help you write this message. 

What Is a Meeting Announcement? 

Isn’t it a meeting invite we receive in Google Calendar? To tell you the truth, it’s not. It is not that they are interchangeable. They can instead complement one another. A meeting announcement is a concise message you send to people you expect to see at an event. It comprises a brief intro with the event’s time, date, location, agenda, and additional information, such as actions certain attendees might need to take to prepare or whether an RSVP is required. 

Is Meeting Announcement That Important?

The success of the event depends largely on how you present it. It’s like a coach speaking to the team before a game. The right words motivate, excite and set the tone. Poor quality speech, on the other hand, can spoil the whole mood and bring failure. The proper meeting announcement is just like that. It can ignite interest and make people anticipate. It sets the mood, informs participants of what to expect, and lets them prepare. In other words, a perky yet informative and concise meeting announcement can lead to a productive and engaging event.

Tips&Tricks for Writing an Effective Meeting Announcement 

You can find plenty of meeting announcement samples online if you don’t feel like crafting one yourself. Either way, our tips will help both write a fascinating invite from scratch and edit a template. 

What’s the Point?

Always begin by explaining the purpose of the meeting. First, formulate it for yourself and analyze whether it sounds clear. The purpose of the meeting should explain to each employee why they should attend. A poorly worded topic can give the impression that it does not concern the employee, and they simply won’t come because it will not benefit them or their knowledge and experience will not be useful. For example, an IT staff member may be confused by invitation to a budget planning meeting and think it’s a mass mailing. However, if you specify that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss budget allocation by the department for the purchase of new equipment and professional development courses, it may change their mind.  

Cover the Five Ws

The five Ws will help you explain the purpose of the gathering and bring more details to the table. You can present this information in any format you like. So, what are the five Ws? 

1. who is invited to the meeting; 
2. when will it happen; 
3. where is the location; 
4. why is the meeting organized;
5. what is going to be discussed. 

These five Ws actually cover all the essential information attendees need to know. 

Call to Action 

Your call to action depends on the goal you set. If you want to increase attendance, you have to highlight the importance of the meeting to each participant. Like in the example with equipment and courses purchase, the importance will be not to miss a chance to speak out and vote for the free courses the company can provide you. 

Perhaps, your goal is to get an RSVP to see how many people plan to come to your gathering. In this case, you should provide your contact info and encourage people to give their feedback. This way, you may know that the timing is bad and reschedule the event. The CTA is an essential part of your invitation as it indicates the actions participants have to take to attend the meeting. 

Add the Agenda 

A brief agenda can help attendees navigate the meeting and know what to expect. Besides, it’s an excellent chance to get prepared and engage in the discussion. Make sure to avoid too much detail. 

Choose the Language 

Your tone of voice and language to inform your colleagues must be the same as in daily communications. The choice of terms also depends on the department you are gathering with. Designers will hardly understand complicated accounting terms and vice versa. 

Design It and Send Out

When we talk about cheerful meeting announcements, we don’t mean ten different fonts, bold formatting, and GIF emojis. Keep your content readable and styled. Use paragraphs and bullet lists, and just keep it simple. If you have a virtual meeting, make sure to include the time zone and a link to an app (Whoosh, Zoom, TrueConf) or a chat room where a gathering will take place. Try to send a meeting announcement as early as possible before the event.

As you can see, nothing is challenging about compiling an engaging and perky meeting announcement. Keep it brief, simple, and straightforward.