Calendly

How do YOU really feel about meetings? In our annual State of Meetings Report—out today—we asked 1.2k business professionals this very question and more to understand what they love about meetings, dislike, and how they believe meetings can be improved. What we found might surprise you. ?? 81% of respondents said more meetings would actually help them in some way. You read that right. But, here’s the catch: That’s only if they’re productive meetings. Here's what else we found: - The time we spend just scheduling meetings has increased this year compared to 2023—no wonder we found there’s a growing appetite for AI in smart scheduling assistance. ?? - Most of us are multitasking during virtual meetings—a sign that we need to make that time more engaging and purposeful. ? - Different age groups experience meetings differently—from establishing boundaries (which we found Gen Z does a great job of!) to keeping agendas on track. ?? The bottom line—meetings themselves are not the problem. It’s all about how we approach them. This is just the tip of the data iceberg. Want to dive into ALL the findings and create #BetterMeetings ahead of 2025? Check out the report in the comments. ?

This advice is golden—take notes! ? Thanks, Leslie Venetz!

In the 20+ years of my career, I have attended A LOT of meetings. Some were dreaded, some were good. But the most productive ones were purposely engaging or had an agenda or goal that we actually accomplished during the meeting. Those kinds of productive meetings have led to me creating many relationships all over the world that have lasted me to this day—some with people that I have never even met in person. Why? Because during our time together, we were able to:? 1?? Create meaningful connections 2?? Build a foundation of mutual trust and support 3?? Solve pretty hard challenges All while establishing strong awareness in companies, where in some situations, there was barely a product in the market. The same is true now, and may even be more critical to relationship building in today's hybrid world of virtual and in-person meetings — we all want to leave a meeting feeling accomplished and more connected, right? For me and my team, prepping for a productive meeting starts BEFORE it even begins, like always including an agenda and establishing a goal. This type of meeting IS worth our time and they allow my team and I to solve problems and create opportunities and relationships that would otherwise not exist. Ever use a Miro board during a team meeting? Ever break into smaller groups during larger meetings and have real conversations? Game changing.? ? Meetings can be so much more than just another item on your to-do list. When done right, they create space for collaboration, creativity, and purposeful connections that drive real results. And now there's data to back that up: 81% of workers say more meetings would help them in some way, according to Calendly's State of Meetings Report. Yes, I said it: workers want more meetings – as long as they’re good meetings. Whether it's internal brainstorming sessions or external client calls, meetings shape how we work across roles, industries, and generations. I’ll link the Report in my comments if you’re curious to learn more. I'm always looking for new ways to keep everyone engage and present during meetings. Have you tried anything new recently? #BetterMeetings

Whether you love or dread them, meetings are essential to business. Yet, unproductive meetings still happen, and I think it’s safe to say we’ve all left a meeting or two in the past feeling more frustrated than motivated. How can we break the cycle of bad meetings so we can accomplish more in our work days? It’s great to see that Calendly wanted to get to the bottom of this question too. I enjoyed their annual State of Meetings Report, which surveyed more than a thousand workers on their perception of internal and external meetings. The most interesting result from the report might surprise you: A majority (81%) of the workers surveyed feel that more meetings, if productive, would help them in some way. Yes, that’s right, more productive meetings! To me, this signals meetings themselves are not the problem — unproductive meetings are. A well-run meeting start to finish requires thoughtful structure, not just purpose, to make an impact. If you want to create a more productive meeting culture for your organization, I recommend checking out Calendly’s full report below.? https://bit.ly/4ezIpZT #BetterMeetings #CalendlyCollab

New CTA for you to try based on brain science. This CTA leverages the But You Are Free" (BYAF) technique. ?? "I believe we should meet next week to discuss [relevant topic]. You're free to refuse, but if it sounds valuable, book a time here [Calendly URL]." ?? Why it works: - Increases Win Rates: According to the research, BYAF nearly doubles the chances of getting a "yes" by reducing pressure and making the person feel in control of their decision. - Lowers Zone of Resistance: When people are reminded they’re free to say no, they’re less likely to resist and more open to agreeing because they don’t feel coerced. ?? Why you should care: - Proven by Research: This technique, formalized in a 2000 study, has been tested across 42 experiments with over 22,000 participants, showing its real-world effectiveness. The results consistently demonstrated that emphasizing freedom of choice significantly boosts compliance across various situations.

Just in time for the start of Q4—sales folks, take notes! ?? We recently caught up with our friend Donald C Kelly IRL at HubSpot #INBOUND! Between running his own business and producing his successful podcast, The Sales Evangelist, Donald is a master of finding time to do it all. He also happens to be an incredible customer who uses our HubSpot CRM integration and automated reminders through Workflows! We love these 3 ways he mentioned managing his time and prospects: ? Automation, automation, automation ? Ensuring your tech stack “talks” to each other ? Connecting scheduling tools to your CRM Give Workflows a try in Calendly. And if you're curious about our CRM integrations, check out the link in the comments.

Eager to make the most of your time, wherever the week takes you? We shipped updates to the Calendly mobile app to bring you the latest features you love! A few of my personal favorites – meetings agenda view, scheduling in real time, meeting history per contact, and a visual/ux polish across the experience. Update your Calendly mobile app today! Learn more about the release: https://lnkd.in/dS6XQhKh ? design leadership Alise Crain? design Tom Bergman ? #DesignAtCalendly #ProductDesign #Calendly #MobileDesign

From Calendly how-tos, to expert productivity tips (like this popular "chase the squirrel" lesson from Luis Velasquez MBA, PhD.) we loved learning from our speakers at the #BetterMeetings virtual event! ?? ??? But we also learned a lot from *you* in the chat! We loved seeing your tips shared from all over the world. Here are a few of our favorites: ?? Keep things on-topic: “Have a main person (manager, owner) keep people on task and be a timekeeper.” ?? Always have an agenda: "This is my default for any meeting invite I send: 1) Main goal/objective, 2) Open Q&A, 3) Next steps/owners.” ?? Protect time between meetings: “Buffers are my jam and jelly.” ?? Create time for your team to catch up: “Our organization enacted a guideline to not have meetings on Fridays to allow staff to get caught up on workloads through the week…Recently just joined the enterprise level of Calendly. So far, so good!” Did you miss our #BetterMeetings event? Watch it now at the link in the comments! ?

Let’s talk marketing nightmares (it's spooky season after all???). And since I’m a solutions-focused person, how we can overcome those fears. I’ve noticed 3 haunting categories throughout my career: ?? 1. Public speaking. A big one keeping people up at night is speaking on a webinar. It's scary because of the unknowns, potential technical difficulties, questions that might get asked, forgetting what you want to say...the list could really go on and on. To relieve this fear, focus on what you need based on the role you’re serving.?If you’re joining as the host, then it’s about practicing with the fellow presenters and setting parameters for time, content, and banter. If you’re sharing more about your product, then you need to commit to learning about your features so you can add to the conversation and pick the right questions to field. Another idea is bringing a product expert on the webinar so they can demo and you can talk about benefits to the audience. We do this often at Calendly and it's become my favorite type of webinar! If you’re sharing best practices for your role or industry (thought leadership), then focus on your outline. Some people like to write out a full script while others prefer having talking points to guide them in the moment. ?? 2. Deadlines. You need that when?! Tomorrow?! We can all break out in a cold sweat from getting a tight deadline added to our day, forgetting about a deadline, or knowing that a current deadline won’t be met. The antidote to this is getting more clarity.?Understand if this is a hard deadline, because it would completely hold up the rest of the process, or if there’s some wiggle room. Ask if this is a deadline we set for ourselves internally that isn’t tied to an external launch that we cannot move. Talk to your manager about how to shift priorities so you focus on the right things. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to say you need help or propose a different option that could solve everyone’s needs. ?? 3. Strategy/goal setting. This panic starts from feeling like it all rests on your shoulders or worrying you're not the right person to make decisions. It could also make you think of your future self and whether you will be able to hit those goals...and what the consequences could be. My ‘dreamcatcher’ for this fear is reminding yourself that there’s a reason they asked for your input and trusted you with this.?It’s also good to ask for advice from fellow teammates or managers you trust. Get a second set of eyes on your plan and get feedback before you submit it as final. Company culture does come into play here, but you owe it to yourself to set goals and work towards hitting them. Would love to hear any other marketing nightmares you’ve faced and how you overcame them!

At Calendly, we believe in scheduling time for things that matter. #CalendlyCares is our way of giving back to our local communities! By empowering our incredible colleagues to get involved through volunteering and charitable giving, we're working to make a positive difference wherever we can. Our most recent event was a smashing success! ?? More than 80 Calendly team members volunteered with their friends, neighbors and families for over 20 nonprofit organizations. ?? Groups of Calendly volunteers joined together in Atlanta, Austin, Charleston, Denver, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and San Francisco. ?? Activities ranged from blood donations and park clean-ups to gardening, food bank support, and animal nonprofit work. Together, we’re not just scheduling time—we’re making it count. ??