Scheduling Across Time Zones
跨时区约会议
跨时区约会,最容易出错的就是『几点』。这段对话教你怎样用英文把时间说清楚:先问对方所在时区、把时间同时用两地时间和 UTC 写明、照顾到没人愿意深夜开会、主动提出轮流迁就、最后用一句『我发日历邀请,附带时区』把约定锁死,避免有人早到十二小时。
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Scene: You are in Shanghai. Your new teammate, Leo, is in London. You need a 30-minute call this week to kick off a project, so you message him to find a time.
You: Hi Leo, could we find 30 minutes this week to kick off the project? Just to be clear, I'm in Shanghai, which is UTC+8. What time zone are you in?
Leo: Hi! I'm in London, UTC+1 at the moment with summer time. So you're seven hours ahead of me. Mornings for me are usually free.
You: Good to know. My afternoons overlap with your mornings, then. How about your 9 a.m. on Thursday? That's 4 p.m. my time — a comfortable slot for both of us.
Leo: Thursday at 9 works well. Let's write it in both times so nobody joins twelve hours early — I've done that before! 09:00 London, 16:00 Shanghai.
You: Agreed. I'll add UTC too, since another colleague may join from New York. And thanks for taking a morning slot — next time I'm happy to take an early or late one so we take turns.
Leo: That's kind, thank you. Fair rotation keeps everyone happy. Could you send a calendar invite with the time zones shown? My calendar will convert it automatically.
You: Will do. I'll send the invite now with 16:00 Shanghai / 09:00 London / 08:00 UTC and a short agenda. See you Thursday, Leo.