How to Email Someone Who Missed a Meeting (+ Templates)

Someone missed your meeting. Maybe their calendar was overbooked, their video conferencing software crashed, or they simply forgot. Whatever the reason, you're now faced with a gap in attendance that could derail your project's momentum.

The good news: a well-crafted follow-up email can turn a no-show into a rescheduled conversation—and even strengthen your professional relationship. The key is knowing what to say, when to say it, and how to make it easy for the absent party to get back on track.

Already spending too much time on meeting follow-ups?

Fellow, a secure AI meeting assistant, automatically generates meeting summaries and transcripts you can share with anyone who missed the call—so they're in the loop without you writing a single recap email. Start your free trial →

What is a no-show email?

A no-show email is a message sent to someone who was invited to your meeting but didn't attend and didn't communicate their absence in advance. The purpose isn't to reprimand—it's to accomplish three things: acknowledge the missed meeting, reinforce why the conversation matters, and provide a clear path forward.

Effective no-show emails typically include the original meeting's purpose, any relevant materials or outcomes from the meeting (if it proceeded without them), and options for rescheduling or alternative ways to connect.

You might send a no-show email to a single absent participant or to multiple attendees who didn't show, depending on how critical their presence was to the meeting's objectives.

When should you send a no-show email?

Send your no-show email within a few hours of the meeting's scheduled end time. Waiting longer than one business day signals that their absence wasn't a priority—which can undermine your message about the meeting's importance.

Here's the timing breakdown:

1. First 5-10 minutes after the scheduled start: Reach out via Slack, text, or a quick call to check if they're joining

2. 10 minutes past the start time: Assume they won't be attending

3. Within 2-4 hours of the meeting ending: Send your no-show email

4. Maximum window: End of the next business day

Avoid sending the email while the meeting is still in progress—they may simply be running late.

Why sending a no-show email matters

Skipping the follow-up might seem easier, but consistent no-show communication creates meaningful benefits:

• Builds healthy workplace communication. Following up after a missed meeting demonstrates professional communication habits that set expectations across your organization.

• Reinforces that everyone's time is valuable. Your no-show email signals that meeting attendance matters and that preparation time wasn't wasted.

• Creates a documentation trail. If someone repeatedly misses mandatory meetings, having a record of your follow-up attempts becomes essential for addressing the pattern constructively.

• Keeps projects moving. Rather than letting decisions stall, a prompt follow-up gets the absent party caught up and maintains momentum.

• Preserves the meeting's purpose. Important discussions don't disappear simply because someone couldn't attend—your email ensures the conversation continues.

How do you politely email someone who missed a meeting?

The best no-show emails balance professionalism with empathy. Here's how to strike that balance:

Lead with understanding, not frustration

Resist the urge to express disappointment. There are countless legitimate reasons someone might miss a meeting: conflicting priorities, technical failures, family emergencies, or simply an overloaded calendar. Assume positive intent and keep your tone friendly.

Instead of: "I noticed you weren't at our meeting today."

Try: "I hope everything's going well on your end—I wanted to follow up on our scheduled conversation."

Restate the meeting's purpose and value

Remind them why the meeting was scheduled in the first place. What decisions needed to be made? What information were you planning to share? What value would they have gained from attending?

Share what happened (if the meeting proceeded)

If your meeting continued without them, provide a summary. This is where an AI meeting assistant transforms your workflow. Instead of manually typing out everything that was discussed, you can share:

• An AI-generated meeting summary that captures key points in seconds

• The full meeting transcript for anyone who wants the details

• Specific action items that were assigned

With Fellow, you can generate these automatically after every call. Just ask Fellow to "write a follow-up email for this meeting," and you'll have a complete summary ready to share.

If you're still manually writing recap emails after every meeting, there's a better way. Fellow generates meeting summaries, extracts action items, and even drafts follow-up emails—automatically.

Try Fellow free →

Provide clear rescheduling options

If the conversation still needs to happen, make rescheduling frictionless:

• Suggest 2-3 specific time slots that work for you

• Include a link to your calendar booking tool (Calendly, Chili Piper, or similar)

• Mention any deadlines that make rescheduling time-sensitive

Offer alternative communication channels

Sometimes a full meeting isn't feasible. Consider offering alternatives:

• Asynchronous video message: Record a quick Loom walking through the key points

• Slack or email summary: Share the highlights and ask for their input asynchronously

• In-person catch-up: If you're both in the office, suggest a brief face-to-face conversation

• Shared meeting recording: Send them the recording library link so they can watch on their own time

What should you include in a no-show email?

Every effective no-show email contains these core elements:

No-show email templates you can use today

Template 1: Simple reschedule request

Subject: Following up on our [meeting topic] conversation

Hi [Name],

I hope everything's going well. I noticed we weren't able to connect for our [meeting type] today at [time].

Given the importance of [meeting purpose], I'd love to find another time to chat. Based on your calendar, it looks like [proposed date/time] could work—does that suit you?

Let me know, and I'll send over a calendar invite.

Best, [Your name]

Template 2: Follow-up with meeting summary

Subject: Catching you up on today's [meeting topic] discussion

Hi [Name],

I wanted to reach out after our [meeting type] earlier today. I know schedules can get hectic, so I've put together a quick summary of what we covered.

Key discussion points:

• [Point 1]

• [Point 2]

• [Point 3]

Decisions made:

• [Decision 1]

• [Decision 2]

Action items:

• [Action item with owner and deadline]

If you have any questions or want to discuss anything further, I'm happy to find time for a quick follow-up call.

Best, [Your name]

Template 3: Sales or client follow-up

Subject: Still excited to show you [product/solution]

Hi [Name],

I hope your day is going well! I noticed we missed each other for our scheduled call today.

I'm still excited to show you how [your product/service] can help [their company] achieve [specific goal they mentioned]. Based on what you shared about [their challenge], I think our [specific feature] could be exactly what you need.

Would any of these times work for a reschedule?

• [Option 1]

• [Option 2]

• [Option 3]

Or feel free to grab a time directly on my calendar: [booking link]

Looking forward to connecting, [Your name]

Template 4: Repeat no-show (gentle escalation)

Subject: Checking in about our [meeting topic] conversation

Hi [Name],

I wanted to follow up on our scheduled conversations around [meeting topic]. I know things get busy, so I wanted to check in and see if this is still a priority for you.

If the timing isn't right, I completely understand—just let me know, and we can revisit when it makes more sense. If you'd like to proceed, I'm happy to find a time that works better with your schedule.

Let me know either way!

Best, [Your name]

How can you prevent missed meetings in the first place?

While no-show emails are necessary, preventing the no-show is even better. Here are proven strategies:

Send meeting reminders

Automated reminders 24 hours and 1 hour before the meeting significantly reduce no-shows. Fellow sends pre-meeting reminders directly to attendees' calendars and email, making the upcoming meeting impossible to miss.

Always include a meeting agenda

Meetings with clear agendas see higher attendance rates. When participants know exactly what will be discussed and how they'll contribute, they're more likely to prioritize attendance.

Make the meeting's value obvious

State the purpose clearly in the calendar invite. What decisions will be made? What information will be shared? What's at stake if this meeting doesn't happen? The more compelling the value proposition, the fewer no-shows you'll encounter.

Use calendar integration tools

Scheduling conflicts are the most common reason for no-shows. Tools that integrate with attendees' calendars help identify optimal meeting times and reduce double-bookings.

Keep meetings necessary and concise

Meeting fatigue is real. Before scheduling, ask yourself: "Could this be an email?" If the meeting is truly necessary, keep it as short as possible. People are more likely to attend a focused 25-minute conversation than an open-ended hour-long call.

How do you keep someone informed when they miss a meeting?

The fastest way to catch someone up: share the meeting recording and AI-generated summary.

With Fellow, every recorded meeting automatically generates a searchable transcript, key point summary, and extracted action items. Instead of spending 20 minutes writing a recap email, you can share a link in seconds.

Even better: use Ask Fellow to query your meeting library. Someone missed last week's sprint planning? Ask Fellow "What decisions were made in the engineering sync last Tuesday?" and get an instant, accurate answer you can forward directly.

This is the modern approach to meeting follow-up: AI handles the documentation, so you can focus on the decisions and relationships that actually matter.

Frequently asked questions

How do you politely tell someone they missed a meeting?

Keep your tone friendly and assume positive intent. Acknowledge the missed meeting without assigning blame, briefly restate the meeting's purpose, and offer a clear path forward—either through rescheduling, sharing a summary, or suggesting an alternative communication method. Phrases like "I noticed we weren't able to connect" work better than "You missed our meeting."

What is the best time to send a no-show email?

Send your no-show email within 2-4 hours of the meeting's scheduled end time. This window keeps the conversation fresh while giving the absent party enough time to have resolved any unexpected issues. Waiting longer than one business day can signal that the meeting wasn't important. Never send the email while the meeting is still in progress—the attendee may just be running late.

Should you ask why someone missed a meeting?

Generally, no. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid asking why someone didn't attend. There are many legitimate reasons for missing a meeting, and asking can come across as accusatory. Focus instead on getting back on track: share what was discussed, offer to reschedule, and provide any materials they need. If someone has a pattern of missing meetings, address that separately in a one-on-one conversation.

How can AI help with missed meeting follow-ups?

AI meeting assistants like Fellow automatically generate meeting summaries, transcripts, and action item lists that you can share with anyone who missed a call. Instead of manually writing recap emails, you can send an AI-generated summary in seconds. Some AI assistants, including Fellow's Ask Fellow feature, also let you query past meetings—so you can quickly find what was discussed in any conversation and share that context with absent team members.

What is the best AI meeting assistant for enterprise teams?

The best AI meeting assistant for enterprise teams combines automatic transcription with organization-wide search, flexible recording options, and robust security. Look for SOC 2 Type II certification, HIPAA and GDPR compliance, and a commitment to never training AI models on your data. Fellow meets all these requirements while offering features like Ask Fellow (natural language querying across all your meetings), botless recording for in-person meetings and Slack huddles, and 50+ native integrations plus 8,000+ apps via Zapier and n8n. Teams at Shopify, HubSpot, Vidyard, and Motive trust Fellow for their meeting intelligence.

Turn missed meetings into follow-up opportunities

Meeting attendance matters, but missed meetings don't have to derail your progress. With the right follow-up approach—and the right tools—you can keep everyone aligned, even when schedules don't cooperate.

The manual approach: Write individual recap emails, track down notes from your own memory, and hope you captured everything accurately.

The modern approach: Let AI capture the conversation automatically, generate shareable summaries instantly, and free you to focus on the actual work.

Ready to stop writing recap emails manually? Fellow is the secure AI meeting assistant that turns every conversation into searchable intelligence. Record meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, in-person, and Slack huddles—then share summaries, transcripts, and action items with anyone who missed the call. SOC 2 Type II certified, HIPAA compliant, and we never train on your data.

Start your free trial →