I often get invited to meetings with titles like “Account Sync” and “Budget Chat” and nothing in the body of the invite. Those titles gives me a little context, but not enough to know what to bring or how to prepare. Are we reviewing client feedback, planning upcoming work, or talking through risks and dependencies? Without clarity, it’s hard to feel ready to contribute.
In hybrid, remote-friendly work, “syncs” and “touchpoints” and “chats” have become the default. We schedule them often and on the fly. The result is not necessarily meeting overload, but calendar confusion and frustration.
So how do we make collaboration easier without adding more friction to actually talking to one another? I use a simple formula for meeting invites that keeps things moving and helps everyone show up prepared, confident, and clear about why they’re there.
The Formula for a Good Invite
Beyond the basics of date and location, here are four elements that really matter in your invitation:
- A Clear Title – Describe what we’re doing in the title. “Budget Planning for Super Cool Shop” tells me what I am walking into. “Rachael / Adam Sync” gives me very little to work with.
- Background – Share what we need to know in advance. A couple of sentences is enough. “Our stakeholders from Super Cool Shop would like our help reducing expenses by 15% next quarter. They would like our recommendations by the end of the week.”
- Goal – State what you hope to accomplish. Words like “decide,” “align,” or “review” are simple but powerful. “Compile a set of recommendations that help reduce project spend and collect risks/trade-offs. Stack rank in order of least to most impact on annual goals. Align on next steps for communicating with Super Cool Shop.”
- Agenda – Outline how you will use the time and who’s leading each part. This can be as flat or as granular as you find helpful.
Here’s how it all comes together:
Title: Super Cool Shop Cost Reduction Strategy
Background: Our stakeholders from Super Cool Shop would like our help reducing expenses by 15% next quarter. They would like our recommendations by the end of the week.
Goal: Compile a set of recommendations that help reduce project spend and collect risks/trade-offs. Stack rank in order of least to most impact on annual goals.
Agenda:
Brainstorm cost reduction ideas (breadth over depth)
Discuss & refine options, including risks/trade-offs
Prioritize & align on top recommendations and next steps for Super Cool Shop
Goal Required, Agenda Optional
Not every meeting needs all four of these. For a close-knit group that shares a lot of context, an agenda can be optional. Most of my ad hoc meeting invites don’t get an agenda. If the group is familiar with the topic and with each other, then background and a clear goal are usually enough to make sure we show up prepared. The “how” and “who” that an agenda covers can often be worked out naturally in conversation. Agendas really start to shine when the group is larger, the stakes are higher, or there is less shared context in the room. An agenda matters when you need to manage time tightly, ensure multiple voices are heard, or keep a complex discussion moving toward a decision.
Pick a Clear Goal
And if you are really pressed for time, just pick a clear name for the sync and write a goal in the invite. A goal does not have to be anything that special. It just answers the question, what are we trying to accomplish together? It does not have to be complicated: one or two sentences is what it takes. For example, some recent syncs I have set up had goals like:
- Decide which design option to move forward with for onboarding flow.
- Align on our approach to the client’s new reporting request.
- Brainstorm potential risks for the upcoming release and identify owners.
- Review open action items from the last sprint and close out what is done.
That is it. You know you have a good goal when you have a verb and a noun. Quick, clear, and easy. When you start adding goals to your invites like this, you will see your syncs feel more focused, your collaborators will show up ready to move things forward, and you will definitely get fewer distracting and stressed-out DMs asking, “What is this meeting about?”
👉 Remember, a good invitation is the first step to a good meeting.