By name: meeting-prep-kit description: Personal meeting prep tool. Given a meeting (attendees, topic, desired outcome), generates a tight prep packet — 3-bullet pre-read, time-boxed agenda, your top 3 talking points, and the top 3 objections you'll face with rebuttals. Use before any meeting where you're driving an outcome — exec reviews, stakeholder pitches, scope negotiations, manager 1:1s with an ask, vendor calls.
Meeting Prep Kit
Personal prep tool for meetings where you are driving an outcome. Not a meeting note-taker. Not a generic agenda builder. The output is for you, the person walking into the room.
Design choices (why this skill is opinionated)
- For you, not the team. Output assumes you already know the context. No "as you know" preambles.
- Outcome-first. Every section ladders back to one thing: what you want when you walk out.
- Top 3, not all 12. Talking points capped at 3. Objections capped at 3. If you can't pick 3, you don't know your ask yet.
- Speakable, not slidable. Talking points are how you'd actually say it out loud — not bullet-point soup.
Inputs the skill needs (interview if missing)
- Who's in the room? Names + roles. Power dynamics matter.
- Meeting length (15 / 30 / 60 min)
- Topic (one sentence)
- The outcome you want. Specific. "Get Sarah to approve $50K budget" — not "discuss budget."
- What they care about (their KPIs, recent context, stated priorities)
- What you have (data, alternatives, asks already discussed offline)
If any of these are missing, ask before drafting. Vague inputs = generic output.
Output format
Pre-read (3 bullets, ≤30 words each)
The minimum context anyone in the room needs before you open your mouth. Three things, no more.
Time-boxed agenda
| Time | Section | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | What this is + the outcome we need | You |
| 0:03 | Context (data, ≤2 min) | You |
| ... | ... | ... |
| Final 5 min | Decision + next steps | You |
Total adds up to meeting length. Decision time is always reserved at the end.
Your talking points (top 3, in order)
- Lead with the strongest — the one fact or framing they can't argue with.
- Address the elephant — name the obvious objection yourself, before they do.
- Make the ask — the one specific yes/no thing you want.
Each in plain spoken language. No corporate-speak, no buzzwords.
Anticipated objections (top 3, with rebuttals)
| Objection | Who'd raise it | Your rebuttal (1 line) |
|---|---|---|
| "We tried this in 2023 and it didn't work" | Sarah | "Different context — Q1 data shows X is now true" |
| ... | ... | ... |
Process
- Confirm inputs (interview if anything's missing).
- Reverse-engineer from the outcome. What would have to be true for them to say yes?
- Draft pre-read → agenda → talking points in that order.
- Brainstorm objections by role. What would each person in the room push back on?
- Cut everything that doesn't ladder to the outcome. If a bullet doesn't serve the ask, drop it.
Worked example
Input
- Who: Mark (VP Eng), Priya (PM lead)
- Length: 30 min
- Topic: Pushing v2 launch from 5/15 to 6/1
- Outcome: Both approve the slip by end of meeting
- They care about: Mark = team burnout, Priya = GTM commits to design partners
- I have: 400-hr capacity gap, 2 design partners' rescheduling status, Q1 burnout survey (4/10 NPS)
Output
Pre-read
- v2 scope = 1,800 hrs estimated; team capacity = 1,400 hrs (400-hr gap).
- Cutting AI-tagging closes the gap but breaks the GTM commit to 4 design partners.
- Slip to 6/1 = 17 days, keeps full scope, gives the team room (NPS hit 4/10 in Q1).
Agenda
| Time | Section | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Why we're here + the ask | You |
| 0:03 | The capacity gap (data) | You |
| 0:08 | Two paths: cut vs. slip | You |
| 0:15 | Discussion | Mark, Priya |
| 0:25 | Decision + next steps | All |
Talking points
- We're 400 hrs over and the team's already at 4/10 NPS. If we ship 5/15, we either cut quality or burn the team for two more weeks. That's the actual choice.
- I know GTM committed 5/15 — I've already drafted the design-partner email and confirmed they can absorb a 17-day slip without losing the pilot.
- I'm asking for the slip to 6/1, full scope intact. Yes/no by EOD so I can lock the comms.
Objections
| Objection | Who | Rebuttal |
|---|---|---|
| "Why didn't you flag this 2 weeks ago?" | Mark | I underestimated the AI-tagging integration. Baking better estimation into the next planning cycle. |
| "Can't we just cut AI-tagging?" | Priya | We could — but it's the #1 ask from 3 of 4 design partners. Slipping costs less than cutting. |
| "What does this do to Q3?" | Mark | Q3 plan already assumed 6/1 — buffer was built in. No downstream slip. |
When to use
- Exec reviews where you're presenting
- Stakeholder pitches that need a yes
- Scope or timeline negotiations
- 1:1s with your manager where you're making an ask (raise, role change, project shift)
- Vendor calls where you're closing or evaluating
When NOT to use
- Status updates (no outcome to drive)
- Brainstorms (no ask)
- 1:1 catchups (no agenda needed)
- Recurring standups
Pairs well with
- Decision Memo Builder — if the meeting is to approve a memo, draft the memo first, prep the meeting around it
- McKinsey Critic — run your talking points through the critic before walking in