“You always want to be polite, even if it’s a quick email that you’re sending out,” Yurovsky says. If you’re sending a follow-up note after a two-hour board meeting or a deep-dive strategy session, it’ll look a little different. If you’re coming out of a standard monthly team meeting or a relatively quick and routine project update meeting, your email can reflect that in its length. But even the scope of the email depends on the meeting. Leonardi urges you to keep it short and sweet. Inviting people to ask questions or reconvene.Attaching or linking to any relevant resources and documents.Outlining action items and owners as well as deadlines for these next steps.Summarizing any key points covered or discussed during the meeting.Thanking people for their time and effort.Or “it can be clarifying roles and direction in a particular project or the subsequent action steps that need to be taken and who’s supposed to take them.”Īs a general guideline, think about doing some or all of the following: “If there was an issue or a challenge that was being dealt with and the meeting resolved that issue or challenge, it can be kind of like a thank you and self congratulatory,” she explains. But what exactly goes into it to make that happen “depends on the nature of the meeting and what is the intention, what is the goal?” Leonardi says. “The purpose of the email is getting everyone on the same page,” says Muse career coach Kristina Leonardi. If you know in advance that you’ll be the one tackling this item, you can even plan ahead by blocking off time on your calendar right after the meeting to get it done. In other words, consider the recap an extension of the meeting and send it off while the discussion is still fresh in your mind and everyone else’s. “If the meeting’s at the end of the day and you want to wait until first thing the next morning, that’s fine, but the closer you are to the meeting, the more momentum is created and it doesn’t start to fall to the bottom of people’s piles.” “It’s best to send the recap as close to coming out of the meeting as possible,” Yurovsky says. Finally, if you’re dealing with more senior colleagues, consider copying their assistants. Then think about whether there’s anyone you realized should have been in on the meeting as well as any other stakeholders who need to take action or have visibility on the topic. Make sure you’re sending your note to all the meeting participants, including anyone who was on the invite list but perhaps wasn’t able to attend. Once the “from” field is settled, it’s time to think about the “to” and “cc” fields. You’re not calling anyone out to put it on them, but you’re also giving other people the opportunity to say, ‘Oh no, I think it actually needs to come from Joe.’” “At the end of the meeting, if it’s not abundantly clear who’s responsible for it and you feel equipped to send that email afterward, then raise your hand and say, ‘Hey, happy to send out the post-meeting email, unless there’s anyone else that feels like it’s more appropriate to come from them,’” Yurovsky says. If it’s a more ambiguous situation, think about whether it makes sense for you to step up to the task. “You just want to make sure you don’t come off like you’re barking orders at other people and that it really comes from the right person that people are going to listen to and respect the ownership and deadline.” “Usually it’s clear at the end of the meeting who’s responsible, but sometimes it’s not, especially if it’s maybe a new project that no one department technically owns yet,” Yurovsky says. If you organized the meeting, created the agenda, and ran the thing, then chances are you should be the one closing the loop with a post-meeting missive. But how do you know if you’re the one who should be sending it? Okay, maybe you’re all in on the idea of a follow-up email. Read on for everything you need to know about sending the perfect post-meeting email-so that you’re never responsible for thwarting progress on whatever it is you were meeting about. “Nobody likes feeling like they sat in a meeting that had good momentum and then nothing happens afterwards.” So you have a team on the same page working toward the same goals, which keeps things efficient and productive and also keeps frustrations down,” says Heather Yurovsky, a Muse career coach and the founder of Shatter & Shine. “The overarching purpose is that it holds everybody accountable to the same expectations. But there’s a simple solution: the post-meeting email. Then, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll deliver advice on landing the job right to you.Įven if matters aren’t so extreme-maybe you had a stimulating and engaging conversation-it’s still disappointing if nothing seems to come out of it. SEARCH OPEN JOBS ON THE MUSE! See who’s hiring here, and you can even filter your search by benefits, company size, remote opportunities, and more.
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