Level 1 · simple request
Request a meeting: an annotated email example
Get a meeting in his calendar.
The situation
Mark DavisClient — Head of Procurement
You've finalised a commercial proposal for Mark. You'd like to walk him through it in 30 minutes next week. You're free Tuesday at 10am or Wednesday at 2pm.
Swamped; he triages his inbox in ten seconds. He wants to know right away what it's about and how long it will take.
Goal
Get a meeting in his calendar.
The winning structure
A good email for this situation includes these elements, in this order:
- A greeting with the recipient's first name.
- What the meeting is about
- The length (30 min)
- Specific time slots
- A clear ask at the end: a question or an action with a deadline.
- A short sign-off, then your name.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out what the meeting is about : « A meeting… about what? »
- Leaving out the length (30 min) : « How much of my time will this take? »
- Leaving out specific time slots : « When? I'm not going to guess their availability. »
- Opening with padding ("I hope this email finds you well") instead of getting to the point.
- A vague subject line like "Question" or "Request".
Write your own version: the recipient reacts and you get a score out of 100.
The annotated example
Try it yourself first: you'll remember more. Click to show the example.
Subject : Our proposal – 30-min walkthrough
Hi Mark,
- Greeting by first name: the reader knows it's for them.
Our proposal is ready and I'd like to walk you through it in 30 minutes next week.
- Includes: what the meeting is about.
- Includes: the length (30 min).
Would Tuesday at 10am or Wednesday at 2pm work for you?
- Includes: specific time slots.
- Clear ask: the reader knows what to do.
Best regards,
Alex
- Short sign-off, then the name.
Why it works : 33 words against a target of 80, 7 words per sentence on average, no filler phrases.