Prompts to design, declines, lead, and recover from meetings. Use them to convert recurring chaos into rhythm, or to take back the days that meetings have eaten.
Build an agenda that filters who needs to be there.
Build a sharp agenda for this meeting: [PURPOSE]. Time: [PASTE]. Attendees considered: [PASTE]. Output: 1) the one sentence describing what we leave with, 2) 3-5 agenda items with time-boxes, 3) the person responsible per item, 4) pre-read required, 5) the attendees who probably don't need to be there. End with the calendar description text.
Pass without burning the inviter.
Help me decline this meeting: [PASTE invite]. My honest reason: [PASTE]. Draft a decline that: 1) acknowledges the inviter's intent, 2) explains the pass briefly, 3) offers an async alternative or a substitute attendee, 4) protects the relationship. Under 80 words.
Replace 30 minutes of live with 6 minutes of doc.
Convert this recurring meeting to async: [PASTE current agenda]. Output: 1) the doc structure that captures the agenda items, 2) the response format and deadline for each, 3) the exception cases that should still trigger a live call, 4) the message to send the team announcing the switch. End with the rollback rule if async fails.
A 1:1 that's not a status meeting.
Design a 1:1 template I'll run with [REPORT / MANAGER / PEER]. Cadence: [PASTE]. Goal: [PASTE]. Output: 1) the 5 recurring sections (status is not one of them), 2) the rotating monthly section, 3) the rules (who drives, who notes, who follows up), 4) the question I'll ask every time, 5) the question I'll ask quarterly. End with the doc structure.
Lead a meeting without it derailing.
Write me a facilitator script for this 60-minute meeting: [PURPOSE]. Attendees: [PASTE]. Cover: 1) the opener (60 seconds), 2) the round-robin question to surface positions early, 3) the time-box per agenda item, 4) the script for when one voice dominates, 5) the closer that locks decisions and owners. End with the recap message to send within 1 hour.
Notes that double as the recap.
Design a meeting note-taking structure that doubles as the recap. Audience for recap: [PASTE]. Output: 1) the sections (decisions, owners + dates, parked items, open questions, next meeting), 2) the convention for marking owner + date, 3) the rule for what's a decision vs a discussion, 4) the post-meeting distribution within 30 minutes. End with a 2-line template I can copy weekly.
Decide if it's still earning its slot.
Recurring meeting: [PURPOSE, FREQUENCY, ATTENDEES]. Audit: 1) the original reason, 2) what it's actually doing now, 3) cost in person-hours per month, 4) the value (decisions made, alignment gained), 5) what replaces it if killed. End with: kill, shrink (cadence or duration), narrow (fewer attendees), or revive (sharper purpose).
Walk in ready to lead the room.
Prep me for this high-stakes meeting: [PURPOSE]. Attendees and their interests: [PASTE]. Output: 1) the outcome I want, 2) the 3 questions I'll ask first, 3) the 2 likely objections and my response, 4) the 1 thing I'll NOT say even if pushed, 5) the close. End with the pre-meeting routine for the 15 minutes before.
Audit the last meeting and improve the next.
Last meeting: [PASTE notes]. Goal was: [PASTE]. Audit: 1) what got decided, 2) what got punted that shouldn't have, 3) who didn't speak, 4) who over-spoke, 5) the agenda item that ate more time than its value. End with the 1 change to make for the next instance and the message to attendees.
Stop the status-theater.
Our daily stand-up: [PASTE current format]. Team size: [PASTE]. Pain points: [PASTE]. Redesign it: 1) the new format (5-10 min max), 2) the prompt for each member, 3) the rules about deep-diving, 4) the async fallback, 5) the cadence change if any. End with the trial period and the success metric.
Walk in with options, walk out with a call.
Design a 45-minute decision meeting. Decision needed: [PASTE]. Pre-reads: [PASTE]. Output: 1) the framing in one sentence, 2) the options to review, 3) the time-box per option, 4) the voting / decision-rights mechanism, 5) the explicit non-decision items. End with the meeting-end deliverable text.
Hold quality across 6 hours of meetings.
I have a back-to-back-meeting day tomorrow: [PASTE schedule]. Help me survive without burning out. 1) The micro-recovery between meetings, 2) the food/water plan, 3) the 2 meetings I should mentally prep most for, 4) the meeting I should ask to reschedule if anything gives, 5) the evening shutdown to actually disengage.
Update execs without over-explaining.
Prep me for an exec stakeholder update on [TOPIC]. Time: 15 min. Audience: [PASTE]. Output: 1) the BLUF (bottom-line-up-front) in one sentence, 2) the 3 numbers they care about, 3) the 1 risk to surface proactively, 4) the 1 ask, 5) the question to expect and the answer. End with the slide title text if I need slides.
Honest test for declining without missing signal.
Meeting on my calendar: [PASTE]. Run the test: 1) am I a required decider, 2) am I a required informer, 3) am I a required supporter, 4) am I optional. If optional, the read-out artifact I'll request. If required, the prep that earns my presence. End with the decision and the message if declining.
Defend one day a week from meetings.
I want one meeting-free day per week. Current meeting load: [PASTE]. Top recurring offenders: [PASTE]. Plan: 1) which day to claim, 2) the meetings to move, 3) the message to broadcast, 4) the exception rule, 5) how I'll use the day (with one anti-pattern to avoid). End with the announcement text.