It has happened to nearly all of us. We have plans to meet someone at a designated time and for one reason or another, we find we are unable to keep our appointment and need to cancel.
Thank goodness for all the electronic gadgets on the market now; they make us accessible at nearly all times of day or evening. The key is to use them thoughtfully.
If you find you must cancel an appointment on the day it is scheduled, don't simply send an email and think you have covered your bases. Not everyone has a phone that receives email; some (including myself) may leave the office in the morning and not return to our computers until later in the day, so we would miss any sort of cancellation alert you may send in this manner.
It takes just a moment to actually dial the telephone and extend your regrets, either "in person" or by message. It is also a warmer, more sincere way in which to extend an apology for any inconvenience the cancellation may cause the other person.
Follow up with an email, by all means, but don't make it your first, and especially only, way of canceling out on others.
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Remember...
When someone you are scheduled to meet with contacts you and says he or she needs to reschedule, don't sound annoyed; you have no idea what may be precipitating the cancellation.
Simply accept the apology and set another appointment. While you cannot control how other people behave, you will be judged on your words and conduct.
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