How to decline a meeting politely

When to use it

Use it when you can't or shouldn't attend a meeting. A clear decline frees the organizer to plan, and offering a written update means your input still counts. It's much better than accepting and not showing up.

Example

In an email or Slack message

When declining the calendar invite, add a note: “Can't attend this one. I'll send my update on the data migration by Wednesday so you have it beforehand.”