How To Cancel A Meeting The Right Way
You
may have set up a meeting with someone, but something seems to have
cropped up and you find that you can't make it. Cancelling meetings
are part and parcel of everyday life. What really matters, however,
is the manner in which you cancel a meeting. Calling off an
appointment with someone needs to be done in a manner that exudes
professional and personal courtesy. Always put yourself in the other
person's shoes when you are about to reschedule a meeting.
Acknowledge that you are about to cause someone an inconvenience, and
do everything in your capacity to minimize that.
A few days in advance
Whether you have an assistant to take care of your professional commitments for you or you are doing them yourself, an acceptable way of cancelling or rescheduling a meeting is to send a polite email with a few days notice. If the other party has planned travel to attend the meeting, be mindful about that, and reschedule it to give them enough time to alter their travel plans.
The day before a meeting
The closer you get to the date of the meeting, the trickier it is to cancel it. First, understand how much problem it would cause to the other person. If you know that the person you are meeting with lives locally, and doesn't have a calendar full of commitments to traipse around, you may connect with them and ask for a rescheduling. Common courtesy would be to give them the upper hand in choosing the time for rescheduling, since you are the one who is cancelling. If they were going to come to your office, maybe you can compensate by going to theirs. If the person is traveling from somewhere far off to meet with you, chances are that they might have already scheduled their travel plans. In such a situation, try your best to stick to your original agenda.
The day of the meeting
You should have a pretty compelling reason to cancel it on the day of meeting, especially if you are the person who requested the meeting in the first place. If this is the scenario you are in, cancelling or rescheduling the meeting on the day of the appointment warrants a personal phone call or email. If the person has traveled to meet you, try to shift your schedule around to meet them the same day, but at a different time. For instance, if you had a lunch appointment, try and reschedule it to a dinner appointment. If for some reason, you are unable to reschedule it for another time on the same day, make the extra effort to travel to where the other person is for a follow up.
Within an hour of the meeting
A sincere apology would be the only way out of this situation. Try not to make tall claims and excuses; just come clean. Honesty is definitely the best policy at a time like this.
If you have rescheduled already
If you have already rescheduled once before, it is inappropriate to reschedule it second time. If, however, you do it in advance, it may still be acceptable. But rescheduling or cancelling a meeting a third time in a row is completely unacceptable.
If the meeting involves more than one person
If a meeting involves more than one person, try your best not to cancel or reschedule it. This doesn't refer to a meeting with two people from the same organization, but a board meeting, or a meeting with representatives from three or more companies. While it is not unheard of for board meetings to be rescheduled, it shows common professional and personal courtesy if you do it well in advance. It shows that you respect the time of others. Any last minute changes that involve several people can be a logistical nightmare.
A few days in advance
Whether you have an assistant to take care of your professional commitments for you or you are doing them yourself, an acceptable way of cancelling or rescheduling a meeting is to send a polite email with a few days notice. If the other party has planned travel to attend the meeting, be mindful about that, and reschedule it to give them enough time to alter their travel plans.
The day before a meeting
The closer you get to the date of the meeting, the trickier it is to cancel it. First, understand how much problem it would cause to the other person. If you know that the person you are meeting with lives locally, and doesn't have a calendar full of commitments to traipse around, you may connect with them and ask for a rescheduling. Common courtesy would be to give them the upper hand in choosing the time for rescheduling, since you are the one who is cancelling. If they were going to come to your office, maybe you can compensate by going to theirs. If the person is traveling from somewhere far off to meet with you, chances are that they might have already scheduled their travel plans. In such a situation, try your best to stick to your original agenda.
The day of the meeting
You should have a pretty compelling reason to cancel it on the day of meeting, especially if you are the person who requested the meeting in the first place. If this is the scenario you are in, cancelling or rescheduling the meeting on the day of the appointment warrants a personal phone call or email. If the person has traveled to meet you, try to shift your schedule around to meet them the same day, but at a different time. For instance, if you had a lunch appointment, try and reschedule it to a dinner appointment. If for some reason, you are unable to reschedule it for another time on the same day, make the extra effort to travel to where the other person is for a follow up.
Within an hour of the meeting
A sincere apology would be the only way out of this situation. Try not to make tall claims and excuses; just come clean. Honesty is definitely the best policy at a time like this.
If you have rescheduled already
If you have already rescheduled once before, it is inappropriate to reschedule it second time. If, however, you do it in advance, it may still be acceptable. But rescheduling or cancelling a meeting a third time in a row is completely unacceptable.
If the meeting involves more than one person
If a meeting involves more than one person, try your best not to cancel or reschedule it. This doesn't refer to a meeting with two people from the same organization, but a board meeting, or a meeting with representatives from three or more companies. While it is not unheard of for board meetings to be rescheduled, it shows common professional and personal courtesy if you do it well in advance. It shows that you respect the time of others. Any last minute changes that involve several people can be a logistical nightmare.
Vishal
Ingole
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