--- name: meeting-prep-brief description: "Prepare a one-page brief before important meetings: the outcome wanted, attendee roles and history, context from past notes and email with sources, open items on both sides, key facts, likely questions and objections, talking points, questions to ask and a morning digest for busy days. Use whenever someone has a client call, sales meeting, manager one-to-one, interview, investor or board meeting or difficult conversation coming up and wants to prepare, or asks for a meeting brief or daily meeting digest." license: CC-BY-4.0 metadata: author: Afeez Adebayo author_url: https://afeezadebayo.com author_linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afeez-adebayo/ author_x: https://x.com/za_icon source: https://afeezadebayo.com/skills-md/productivity/meetings-calendar/meeting-prep-brief/ category: productivity subcategory: meetings-calendar version: "1.0.0" created: "2026-10-10" updated: "2026-10-13" --- # Meeting Prep Brief Most people walk into meetings cold. They skim the invite title, scroll the last email thread on the way in and spend the first ten minutes catching up. Important meetings with clients, managers, investors or interviewers deserve better: knowing who is in the room, what happened last time, what each side wants and what a good outcome looks like changes the result. AI agents with access to email, calendar and notes can assemble that context in seconds, if they know what to look for and what to leave out. This skill prepares a one-page brief before a meeting: purpose and desired outcome, attendees and their roles, history from past notes and email, open actions on both sides, key numbers, likely questions and objections, the user's talking points and the questions they should ask. It stays short enough to read in two minutes. ## Operating principles 1. **Outcome first.** Every brief starts with what a good result looks like. 2. **Two-minute read.** One page; detail goes in links. 3. **Facts with sources.** Every claim links to the email, note or document it came from. 4. **Both sides' view.** What the other people want matters as much as the user's goals. 5. **Respect privacy.** Use what the user has access to and public information; never dig into private lives. ## Inputs - The calendar event (title, attendees, time, description, attachments). - Access to email, notes, documents and the CRM where relevant. - The user's goal for the meeting, if not obvious. - Public information about external attendees and their company, if appropriate. ## When to use, and when not to Use it before client and sales calls, manager one-to-ones, interviews, investor or board meetings, partner calls, difficult conversations and any meeting where preparation changes the outcome. Don't use it for routine internal stand-ups (`standups-status-meetings`) or to write the agenda itself (`meeting-agenda`). ## Workflow ### Step 1. Read the event Title, time and time zone, attendees, description and attached documents. If the purpose is unclear, say so and suggest asking the organiser. ### Step 2. Define the outcome What must be true when the meeting ends: a decision, an agreement, information gathered, a relationship strengthened. Ask the user if unknown. ### Step 3. Profile the attendees Name, role, company, relationship to the user, last interaction and anything they care about that is visible in past emails or public profiles. Keep it professional. ### Step 4. Pull the history Last meeting notes, recent email threads, decisions made, promises on both sides and anything still open. ### Step 5. Gather key facts Numbers, dates, contract terms, project status or account data the conversation will need. ### Step 6. Anticipate Likely questions, objections or concerns from the other side, with short answers. ### Step 7. Write talking points and questions Three to five points the user wants to land and three to five questions to ask. ### Step 8. Deliver on time For scheduled briefs, send 30 to 60 minutes before the meeting, or the evening before for morning meetings. ## Brief template ``` # Brief: , Outcome we want: Who's there: Context: <3 to 5 bullets of history with links> Open items: | Key facts: They may ask: -> Points to land: <3 to 5> Questions to ask: <3 to 5> Risks or sensitivities: ``` ## Meeting types and focus | Type | Focus the brief on | |---|---| | Client or sales call | Account history, needs, objections, next step to propose | | Manager one-to-one | Wins, blockers, decisions needed, career topics | | Interview (as candidate) | Company, role, interviewers, stories to tell, questions to ask | | Interview (as interviewer) | Candidate summary, what to test, scoring criteria | | Investor or board | Key metrics, changes since last update, asks | | Difficult conversation | Facts, the other person's likely view, the outcome, opening line | | Partner or supplier | Contract terms, performance, open issues | ## Output format ``` 1. One-page brief (template above) 2. Links to sources used 3. Gaps: information not found or to confirm ``` ## Questions that improve most meetings - What would make this meeting a success for you? - What has changed since we last spoke? - What is the biggest obstacle right now? - Who else needs to be involved in this decision? - What should happen next, and by when? ## Preparing an opening The first minute sets the tone. The brief can suggest an opening line that confirms the purpose and time ("In the next 30 minutes I'd like us to agree the renewal terms and a plan for onboarding; does that work for you?") and, where relevant, addresses any open issue first, such as an unresolved complaint. Starting with the other side's concern often makes the rest of the conversation easier. ## Sources the agent checks | Source | What to pull | |---|---| | Calendar | Attendees, past meetings with the same people | | Email | Recent threads, promises, attachments | | Meeting notes | Decisions and actions from last time | | CRM or account tools | Deal stage, usage, tickets, contract dates | | Shared documents | Proposals, plans, reports referenced in the invite | | Public web | Company news, role changes, published interviews | The agent states which sources it could not access, so the user knows where gaps may be. ## After the meeting The brief's outcome line becomes the test for the notes: was the outcome reached, partly reached or missed? That answer, plus actions and decisions, feeds the follow-up and the next brief with the same people. ## Edge cases and judgement calls | Situation | What to do | |---|---| | No agenda or unclear purpose | Note it; draft a message asking the organiser for the goal | | First meeting with a stranger | Use public professional information only | | Many attendees | Profile only decision makers and people the user must work with | | Sensitive topics (layoffs, health, legal) | Keep notes minimal and factual; avoid speculation | | Back-to-back meetings | Ultra-short version: outcome, one fact, one question | | Confidential material | Keep it out of shared briefs | ## Handoffs to related skills - Agendas: `meeting-agenda` - Notes and actions afterwards: `meeting-notes-actions` - Follow-up email: `meeting-follow-up` - One-to-ones: `one-to-one-meetings` - Interview preparation: the Jobs and Careers `interview-preparation` skill - Difficult messages: the Email and Inbox `difficult-emails` skill ## Worked example An account manager has a renewal call with a client whose usage fell this quarter. The agent's brief, sent 45 minutes before, states the outcome (agree renewal terms and a plan to lift usage), profiles the client's new operations director (joined two months ago, raised onboarding concerns in an email last month), lists the last three interactions, flags an unresolved support ticket, gives usage and contract numbers, anticipates a price objection with a short answer, and suggests three questions about the director's priorities. The manager opens by addressing the support ticket, and the call ends with a renewal agreed and a training session booked. ## Common mistakes - Briefs that run to several pages. - No clear outcome. - Facts without sources. - Ignoring what the other side wants. - Digging into personal details that are not relevant or appropriate. ## Daily brief For busy days, the agent can produce one morning digest covering every meeting: time, purpose, outcome wanted, one key fact and one question for each, with full briefs only for the two or three that matter most. Meetings with no clear purpose are flagged, with a suggestion to decline, shorten or ask for an agenda. ## Self-check before you answer - Does the brief start with the desired outcome? - Can it be read in two minutes? - Are facts linked to sources? - Are the other side's likely questions covered? --- Created by Afeez Adebayo, Marketing, SEO & Growth Expert Website: https://afeezadebayo.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afeez-adebayo/ X: https://x.com/za_icon Source: https://afeezadebayo.com/skills-md/productivity/meetings-calendar/meeting-prep-brief/ Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). You may copy, share and adapt this skill, including for commercial use, as long as you credit Afeez Adebayo and link to the source URL above. Keep this notice in any copy or adapted version.