Name the job of the meeting
What needs to happen by the end: approval, a choice between options, agreement on an owner, or clarification of a risk? Make that the Ask.
Choose one person closest to that outcome. It may be the executive making the decision, or the employee who must implement it. The right seat follows the action.
Record what you know about their situation and which assumptions need checking.
A meeting-preparation sheet
Decision needed: Whether to pilot a new handoff process between sales and delivery.
Empty Chair: The delivery lead responsible for assigning the work.
Context: They need enough information to plan capacity and avoid last-minute surprises. These needs should be confirmed with the actual lead.
Questions for the meeting:
- What information must arrive before a project can be assigned?
- Who resolves an incomplete handoff?
- How will the team know whether the pilot is helping?
Evidence to gather: Recent handoff examples, current ownership, and available team capacity.
The next move: Share the questions with the delivery lead. Update the meeting material with what you learn.
Review the material before polishing it
- Put the decision and draft agenda, memo, or deck on the table.
- Describe the chosen person’s situation in a Context Card.
- Review through a Room Report, treating observations as hypotheses.
- Sort findings into Use, Validate, Explore, or Reject.
- Gather the evidence needed for important questions.
- Add another chair only if an unanswered question requires it.
Now revise the material so it helps the real participants have the conversation they need.
Leave space for the real answer
Bring the assumptions as questions. Avoid presenting an AI-generated concern as something the stakeholder has already said or agreed with.
Listen for the unexpected. The person in the meeting may reveal a constraint that no simulated review could know.
Good preparation gives you a clearer starting point and more room to listen.
How can AI help with stakeholder preparation?
Choose the stakeholder closest to the next decision or action. Review the material from their situation, then turn the findings into questions and evidence to gather. AI can help you prepare; it cannot establish stakeholder agreement before the meeting.