Turn notes into questions and decisions

Before a meeting, list the decision it should enable. Then choose the smallest set of facts participants need. A long background document can make the actual choice harder to see.

A four-part brief#

Write: the decision or purpose; the current facts with sources; two or three open questions; and the people who own the decision or next action. If you do not know an owner, make assigning one an explicit meeting question. Mark an assumption as an assumption.

For a fictional product rollout, the purpose might be to choose a pilot group. Facts include an approved feature scope and support capacity. Questions include which users can test it and what would stop rollout. The result is a decision, an owner and a date to review evidence. Nothing in that scenario needs a made-up success metric.

Prepare a useful response#

Practice explaining one trade-off aloud: “We can include more teams, but support capacity is limited; which learning do we need first?” If the meeting shifts, return to the decision rather than reading the brief verbatim. See meeting assistance, discovery-call practice and notes versus live coaching. Put your authorized brief in a MagicInterview project; server-based coaching requires Pro under the plan terms.

Leave with a decision record#

At the end, write three lines: Decision: what was agreed; Owner: who will act; Review: when and against which evidence. If the meeting cannot decide, record the missing fact and who will obtain it. Bring that record into the next meeting’s brief instead of starting from the full transcript.