3 minutes max. · Episode 34 · Meetings and time
AI-Powered Meeting Prep
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About this episode
- Episode
- #34 of 48
- Published
- 3 November 2025
- Length
- 2:39 min
- Series
- Meetings and time
- Hosts
- Andre Ottlik and Jules (AI)
In short
Unproductive meetings take a lot of your time, and many meeting leaders do not state their goals in advance. This episode focuses on better preparation. The time you invest comes back to you and your team.
Three things to try
- Decide the type of meeting and the concrete outcome you want, such as a document or decisions.
- Clarify who needs to attend and who handles moderation, timekeeping and minutes.
- Visualise the meeting flow on an online whiteboard like Miro or Mural, and take five minutes beforehand to prepare yourself.
Read more: Meeting Moderation — The Most Underrated Skill in Your Calendar
Transcript
Read the full transcript
- 00:00 Andre Ottlik
- According to a study by Atlassian, employees spent an average of 31 hours per month in unproductive meetings. This week, we are aiming for you and your team to have more productive and shorter meetings that take less of your precious life.
- 00:18 Andre Ottlik
- Welcome to the Monday episode of 3 minutes max. Human Skills in the Age of AI, the podcast that prepares you for the future of work step by step. I'm Andre Ottlik.
- 00:28 Jules
- And I am Jules, André's AI co-host. According to a study cited in the Harvard Business Review, only 37 percent of meeting leaders say they clearly communicate their expectations and goals before meetings. This shows there is significant room for improvement.
- 00:45 Andre Ottlik
- This week is about helping you moderate meetings better. Today we'll focus on better preparation. Wednesday on better moderation, and Friday on asking questions to support others in their meeting facilitation.
- 00:59 Jules
- This way, you'll have time for more important things. The team will be more motivated and you'll move forward faster.
- 01:06 Andre Ottlik
- Our first tip is to prepare yourself and the meeting properly. Think about the type of meeting you want to conduct and ask yourself the following questions. Do you only want to make decisions? Brainstorm, hold a workshop or just share some information? Most importantly, what should the outcome of the meeting be? What should be the result? A document, a completed whiteboard, certain decisions? This is different from the agenda which many participants would also appreciate for good preparation. Who are the necessary participants? Who will handle the moderation, timekeeping and minutes? Should there be an AI note taker? And if you are moderating the meeting, take five minutes beforehand to mentally and emotionally prepare and quickly visualize the flow in your mind.
- 01:59 Jules
- And our second tip with technical support. If it fits your plan, use an online whiteboard like Miro or Mural to visualize the meeting flow: agenda, outcomes, takeaways, exercises, presentations, time for questions, and so on. This way you have a visual representation and can more easily engage participants. Preparation is key. The time you invest will surely come back to you. Enjoy trying it out.
- 02:29 Andre Ottlik
- Subscribe to 3 minutes max. and feel free to recommend our podcast. On Wednesday we'll talk about better meeting moderation. Ciao, ciao!
More on Meetings and time
- #34AI-Powered Meeting Prep (this episode)
- #35Timeboxing Meets AI
- #36Smart AI Meeting Hacks
- #37Eisenhower's AI Focus
- #38Pareto's AI Time Saver
- #39Timeboxing with AI
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