How to write an availability email (templates that get a fast yes)
Copy-paste templates for offering meeting times by email — how many slots to give, how to state the timezone, and how to make the reply a one-word yes.
On this page
The best availability email makes the other person's reply effortless: they scan a short list, pick one, type "Tuesday 10am works," done. Here is the structure that gets that reply, plus templates you can paste.
The structure
One line of context, then the list, then one line of instruction. State the timezone once at the top — never per slot. Offer three to six options spread over at least two days, in 30- or 60-minute blocks, written in the recipient's timezone if you know it.
Template: a first meeting
Hi Priya — great to connect. Would any of these work for a 30-minute call? All times in US/Eastern • Today 07/08 03:30 PM - 04:00 PM 05:00 PM - 05:30 PM • Thursday 07/09 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM 02:30 PM - 03:00 PM If none of those fit, send me a couple of times that do and I'll make it work.
Template: scheduling for someone else
Hi Tom — Maria has the following openings next week (all US/Eastern). Could you pick one and I'll send the invite? • Monday 07/13 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM 03:00 PM - 03:30 PM • Tuesday 07/14 09:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Template: a group
Hi all — here's when everyone on the panel is free (US/Pacific). Reply with the slot that works for you and I'll lock it in: • Wednesday 07/15 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM • Thursday 07/16 09:00 AM - 10:00 AM 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Template: rescheduling without restarting
The version most people write badly. "Sorry, something came up — what does your week look like?" throws away every bit of work already done and puts the search back on the other person. Replace the lost slot instead of reopening the question.
Hi Priya — I have to move our Thursday 2 PM, apologies. Same length, and any of these work (all US/Eastern): • Friday 07/17 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM 02:30 PM - 03:00 PM • Monday 07/20 09:30 AM - 10:00 AM If Thursday was the only day that worked for you, say so and I'll clear something.
What makes the reply one word
Every element above exists to remove a decision. The timezone line removes the conversion. Day headings remove the mental calendar. A fixed block length removes "how long did you need?". And the closing line removes the awkward case — the reader who cannot make any of them now has a sanctioned way to say so, instead of going quiet while they work out how to be difficult.
The anti-patterns are the mirror image. Writing times per-slot with zones attached ("2 PM EST / 7 PM GMT") doubles the reading and invites arithmetic. Offering a range ("I'm free most of Tuesday afternoon") pushes the search back across the table. Attaching an .ics or a calendar invite before agreement makes the answer feel pre-decided. And "let me know what suits" at the end of a perfectly good list quietly reopens everything the list just closed.
Formatting that survives the send
Keep it plain. Bullets and line breaks travel intact into Gmail, Outlook web, Apple Mail and every phone client; tables, coloured text and nested indentation do not, and a list that arrives mangled reads as carelessness. Most replies to scheduling mail are written on a phone, which is the real argument for day headings: a reader scrolling with one thumb needs to find their day before they find their time.
Getting the list without retyping it
The list itself is the slow part. OpenSlot reads your Outlook free/busy (and anyone else's you include) and produces exactly this format — timezone header, day headings, slots — in one click; inside Outlook the add-in inserts it at your cursor. Paste it under your one line of context and send.
Two settings do most of the work on the etiquette above. Minimum slot length is how you stop offering blocks the meeting cannot fit into. Working hours are how you stop offering 8 AM to people you would not want to meet at 8 AM. Both are set once and apply to every list afterwards, so the good version is also the default one.
Common questions
How many times should I offer in an email?
Three to six. Fewer than three and one conflict sends you back a round with nothing gained; more than six and the list stops being a choice and becomes a task, which tends to produce 'let me check and get back to you' rather than an answer.
Where should the timezone go?
Once, at the top, above the times — never appended to each slot. Writing zones per-line ('2 PM EST / 7 PM GMT') doubles the reading and invites exactly the arithmetic you are trying to remove.
How do I reschedule without starting over?
Replace the lost slot instead of reopening the question. 'Something came up, what does your week look like?' throws away all the work already done. Offering two or three specific replacements of the same length keeps the exchange one reply from finished.
Should I attach a calendar invite with the times?
Not before they have agreed to one. An invite arriving alongside the options makes the answer feel pre-decided, and it puts something on their calendar they did not accept. Send the invite once they have picked.
What formatting survives different email clients?
Plain text with line breaks and simple bullets. Tables, coloured text and nested indentation break unpredictably across Gmail, Outlook web, Apple Mail and phone clients, and a list that arrives mangled reads as carelessness. Most replies to scheduling mail are written on a phone.
OpenSlot
Skip the retyping
OpenSlot reads Outlook free/busy and hands you the merged, paste-ready list in any timezone: up to 40 people and 60 days out on Pro, you plus one person and 7 days free.
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