Meeting-Prep Brief Template

Module 5, Lesson 5.4 · produces Entry 3 of the capstone inbox-and-calendar log · concept shape + recipe run

What this is. The five-section meeting-prep brief from Lesson 5.4. Sections 1–4 are agent-drafted (with the honesty rail — do not invent quotes). Section 5 is yours, always. The one sentence you want to leave the meeting with is not delegable.

How to use. Hand the agent this shape. When it returns, run the four-check brief audit (quote check / fact check / relevance check / missing context). Then write Section 5. Then go to the meeting.

Safety norms — copy verbatim to the top of every brief.

Drafts, not sends. Least access for the task. The agent does not move a commitment onto a human’s calendar by itself.

Header

Meeting date / time / location
Other attendees (by relationship, not name if sensitive)
Length
Agent / session used

Section 1 — Meeting context Agent-drafted

Section 1 · Who + why

Who is this with? What is it about at a single-paragraph level? Who requested it?

Section 2 — Recent thread history Agent-drafted

Section 2 · What has been said

Short, accurate summary of the relevant thread turns. If the brief quotes anyone, the quote is accurate. Run the quote check against the thread.

Brief audit: did I check the quotes against the thread?
Yes — each quoted line is verbatim from the actual message.

Section 3 — Open questions Agent-drafted

Section 3 · What’s still unresolved

Specific questions that this meeting exists to resolve, with the evidence that each is actually unresolved in the thread.

Brief audit: are these actually unresolved, or is the agent over-including?
Yes — each open question is grounded in something in the thread.

Section 4 — Documents and references Agent-drafted

Section 4 · What to open before the meeting

Links or file references the agent believes are relevant, with a one-line justification each.

Brief audit: have I opened each one?
Yes — each referenced document has been opened and confirmed relevant.

Section 5 — What you want to leave with Yours, always

Section 5 · Your one sentence

Write this one yourself. Not with the agent. One sentence. What is the one thing you want to leave this meeting with — an agreement, a clear next step, a decision, a deliverable date? The other four sections are preparation; this one is intention.

Your one sentence

The four-check brief audit (before the meeting)

Quote check. Every quoted line matches the actual thread verbatim.
Fact check. Every date, name, and commitment is correct.
Relevance check. No section includes material that is not useful for this specific meeting.
Missing context. The brief does not omit anything load-bearing — a constraint, a prior commitment, a soft preference the agent could not see.

Post-meeting note

Two to three sentences, after the meeting, for the capstone log.

What happened that I did not expect
Whether the brief helped or got in the way

A note on Section 5

The agent can produce a polished brief. It cannot tell you what you want out of the meeting — that is intention, and intention is not delegable. The most common failure pattern in Module 5 meeting-prep is a student who leans on a four-section brief without writing the fifth section, and shows up to the meeting prepared but undirected. Write Section 5. Even when it feels obvious.

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