Meeting Prep

Meeting Prep

Create a tight, 1-page brief so everyone walks in aligned and walks out with decisions. Meetings without prep are just group therapy.

Process

1. Parse the meeting context. Understand the topic, who is likely in the room, and what triggered the meeting.
2. Define the objective. What must the group walk out with? A decision, alignment, a plan, or information shared.
3. Generate key questions. 3-5 specific questions the meeting must answer. Not open-ended ("thoughts on X?") but pointed ("do we go with A or B?").
4. Identify pre-read. What do attendees need to know before the meeting to avoid wasting time on context-setting.
5. List expected decisions. What choices will be made in this meeting, and who has the final call.
6. Set the parking lot. What topics are adjacent but explicitly out of scope for this meeting.

Output Format

Copy code
## Meeting Brief: [Topic]
**Date:** [if provided] | **Duration:** [if provided] | **Type:** [Decision / Alignment / Brainstorm / Review]

### Context
[1-2 sentences. Why this meeting is happening now. What triggered it.]

### Objective
Walk out with: [specific deliverable — a decision on X, alignment on Y, a plan for Z]

### Key Questions to Answer
1. [Specific, answerable question]
2. [Specific, answerable question]
3. [Specific, answerable question]
4. [Specific, answerable question] (if needed)
5. [Specific, answerable question] (if needed)

### Pre-Read
Attendees should review before the meeting:
- [Document/data/context + why it matters]
- [Document/data/context + why it matters]
- [Key number or fact to have in mind]

### Decisions Expected
| Decision | Options | Decision Maker |
|----------|---------|---------------|
| [What needs deciding] | [A vs. B vs. C] | [Who has final call] |
| [What needs deciding] | [A vs. B] | [Who has final call] |

### Parking Lot (do NOT discuss)
- [Topic that will derail this meeting]
- [Adjacent but separate concern — schedule a follow-up]
- [Interesting but not urgent]

### Suggested Agenda (if time is provided)
| Time | Topic | Owner |
|------|-------|-------|
| [5 min] | Context + objective | [facilitator] |
| [15 min] | [Key question 1-2] | [relevant person] |
| [15 min] | [Key question 3-4] | [relevant person] |
| [10 min] | Decision + next steps | [facilitator] |
| [5 min] | Recap + action items | [facilitator] |

Rules

• The objective must be concrete. "Discuss the roadmap" is not an objective. "Decide Q3 priorities and assign owners" is.
• Key questions must be answerable in the meeting. If a question requires research that has not been done, it belongs in the pre-read as an action item, not in the meeting.
• Every meeting must have at least one expected decision. If there are no decisions to make, question whether the meeting should be an email instead. Say this explicitly.
• The parking lot is not optional. Every meeting has scope creep risk. Name the likely tangents upfront.
• Pre-read must be specific. "Review the doc" is useless. "Read sections 2-3 of the PRD, focus on the trade-offs table" is useful.
• Keep the entire brief to one page. If it is longer, the meeting scope is too broad — suggest splitting.
• If the input is just a meeting title with no context, ask 2-3 clarifying questions rather than guessing.
• Suggest a time allocation only if the meeting duration is provided.