3 questions to send before every meeting

Lucas January 28, 2026 3 min read

Most meetings fail before they start. The invite has a vague title, nobody knows what decision needs to happen, and you spend the first 10 minutes just figuring out why you are there.

Send three questions first. If your team cannot answer them in 10 minutes, cancel the meeting. You do not need a call. You need clarity.

This is not about being strict. It is about protecting focus. If you have six people in a 30-minute meeting, you just spent three hours of team time. Three questions up front turns that cost into a quick async check, and it forces the organizer to do the real work: define the outcome.

The 10-minute breakdown

2 mins: Copy the 3 questions
5 mins: Collect answers
3 mins: Cancel or confirm

The 10-minute fix

1. Copy the 3 questions (2 minutes)

Use this exact template in the invite, Slack, or email. Keep it short so people actually answer.

1) What is the goal? (decision, alignment, brainstorm, approval)
2) What info is missing? (links, numbers, files, context)
3) Who is the decider? (name the person who can say yes or no)

Example that is actually usable:

Goal: approve the final homepage headline
Missing info: two headline options + the target audience
Decider: Taylor

2. Collect answers (5 minutes)

Add one rule: reply in 10 minutes. Not tomorrow. Not five minutes into the call. If it is urgent enough for a meeting, it is urgent enough for a fast answer.

If nobody can name the goal, you are not ready to meet. If nobody can list missing info, the meeting will be a fishing expedition. If nobody can name the decider, the meeting cannot produce an outcome.

Keep answers in one place. If replies come in through chat, paste them back into the invite or the work item so everyone sees the same context. The point is not speed, it is shared clarity.

If your team is global or deep in focus time, change the rule to 2 hours. The principle stays the same: answers come first, meeting comes second.

3. Cancel or confirm (3 minutes)

If any answer is missing, cancel the meeting and ask for the missing piece. If all three are answered, rewrite the meeting title so it matches the goal, then paste the answers at the top of your notes.

Use one of these two messages so canceling does not feel awkward:

Cancel: "Canceling for now. We do not have (goal, missing info, decider) yet. Reply here with it and I will re-send if we still need a call."
Confirm: "Keeping the meeting. Goal is (goal). Decider is (name). Please review (links) before we join so we can decide fast."

If you need a simple structure for the actual call, keep a tight meeting agenda: goal, options, decision, next steps.