best practices for managing meetings with google calendar
TRANSCRIPT
Best Practices for Managing Meetings with Google Calendar
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● Google Calendar is a premier calendaring software, however, you cannot run or
plan successful meeting without proper planning. It all starts with the invitation.
● The subsequent slides focuses on three strategies for managing your meetings:
1) Take charge of your guest list
2) Update your guests responsibly
3) Manage feedback and reschedules
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1) Take charge of the guest list● To invite guests, type in their email addresses.
● Regardless if the calendar program they use, they’ll get
the invite and add it to their calendars.
● Something to keep in mind if your guests are using
different calendar programs:
o You may or may not receive feedback/comments
from the invitee.
o Some functionality is different so be clear about
the expectations for RSVP information, re-
scheduling, etc.
● To make some attendees optional:
o Click on the symbol (shaped like a person
silhouette) next to their name.Fig 1. - Here’s the guest list for a small meeting, and
it’d be great if Paula joins us, but her attendance isn’t
mandatory. Why waste someone’s time if they have
other things on their plate?
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● Maximize what invitees can do once they’ve been added to the guest list:
o Allow guests to invite others
o See the guest list
o Modify the event
● You may not want invitees to modify the event or invite others but you may choose to allow them to see the
guest list.
● In some cases, if you co-run a meeting with someone, you may add the flexibility of allowing the group to invite
others that are available who feel they might contribute.
*For basics like inviting people to an event, check out Synergyse’s super helpful in-browser help topics. Each module offers step
by step instructions, with an overlaid video tutorial, to give you maximum immersion and unlock powerful features.
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2) Update your guests responsibly
● Everytime you modify an event where there are
guests, Google Calendar will ask you if you want
to send an update to your list.
● To avoid rescheduling meetings, it’s often best to
think about the best time and place that will work
for most people.
● Proper planning will limit, if not avoid rescheduling.
Fig 2. - Event notifications are helpful, but think twice about
letting Google just take over and go notification crazy! If you
can relay the message in person, do so whenever possible,
especially for the small stuff like location changes from one
conference room to the next. “Hey, Bob, we’re meeting at
Starbucks instead of Dunkin Donuts. No problem, right?”
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● The notification offer pops up regardless of
how you make modifications to the meeting,
so if you’re dragging the event from one day to
the next in Week view you’ll have the option
communicate.
● “To send or not to send, that is the question”:
o If your attendees are outside your
organization, send the notification.
o If your attendees are from within your
organization, probably best to tell them
in person rather than bombarding them
with emails.
Fig 3. - Another fantastic way to quickly communicate with
your guests is to directly email invitees from the event
itself. There’s no need to build an email list - just click
‘Email Guest’ option by the Guest List and you’ll have the
opportunity to modify the message that goes out. This is
great for a quick heads up, or a clarification of meeting
particulars.
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3) Manage feedback & reschedules
● Meeting invitees are allowed to communicate
back with a note, along with their RSVP response
(usually ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘maybe’). This data becomes
yours to deal with, and you can easily see in the
guest list who has responded, and what their
status is.
● The count at the top that gives you a quick view
of how many are coming or not.
● You can easily plan resources like drinks, snacks,
etc. Your admin assistant (as long as you invited
them to the meeting) can use this data for
planning without unnecessary emails back and
forth.
Fig 4. - Jae’s busy, but I can easily solve the
problem, and Jae doesn’t have to send a separate
email wasting time and resources. Furthermore,
everyone invited (if they’re allowed to see the
guest list) will know what’s going on at all times.
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● Can’t find a time to meet? Let Google Calendar help you!
● As long as all, or most, of the meeting participants are using Google Calendar, finding a time to get together is
easy:
1. Just select the ‘Find a time’ tab next to the ‘Event Details’ tab
2. All of the invitees calendars will show up, visually displaying good times to meet.
3. Simply pick a new time, and off you go!
● TIP: Did you know there’s even an option to add a Google Hangout directly to a meeting?
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