Because no one should go into a meeting unprepared to go into a meeting

In today’s fast-paced, hyper-collaborative, over-Zoomed workplace, it’s not enough to simply have meetings. No, no. That would be chaotic and unstructured. Instead, we must meet about the meetings — to align, calibrate, and gently prepare for the possibility that a decision might be made.

Welcome to the pre-meeting meeting — the sacred ritual of aligning before we align.

Why Have a Meeting About a Meeting?

Think of it as stretching before a jog you don’t want to go on. The pre-meeting serves several critical corporate purposes:

• Ensures no one is surprised by the actual meeting
• Creates an opportunity to review decks that will again be reviewed later
• Allows everyone to feel involved without committing to actual outcomes
• Buys time when no one has done the thing the main meeting is about

If you’ve ever walked into a meeting and said, “Just wanted to level-set ahead of tomorrow’s sync,” you’re already fluent in the language of meta-collaboration.

Common Types of Pre-Meetings

1. The Pre-Read Review

This is where you gather to read documents that were sent “for context” but which everyone silently ignored. Instead of reading them silently on your own time, you’ll now read them silently together, on company time.

2. The Pre-Pre Kickoff

An informal chat to “get everyone on the same page before the actual kickoff.” This is generally hosted by someone who is afraid of real-time feedback and wants to filter all discussion through a Google Doc first.

3. The Stakeholder Alignment Mini

A half-hour meeting with 12 attendees, only two of whom speak. The goal is to ensure no one gets mad in the real meeting — even if they already are.

4. The “Quick Huddle” That Isn’t

Scheduled for 15 minutes. Runs for 42. No one remembers why it was on the calendar. Still somehow recurs weekly.

How to Survive (and Thrive) in Pre-Meetings

1. Always Volunteer to “Draft Talking Points”

This allows you to control the narrative without actually solving any problems. Bonus: you can recycle the same bullets from the last meeting — no one will notice.

2. Use Phrases Like:

• “Let’s not get too deep into this — we’ll cover it in the main meeting.”
• “This is just to make sure we don’t surprise anyone.”
• “Let’s bubble this up to the leadership team.”

These will fill time while implying action is happening.

3. Reference Calendar Fatigue

Say things like, “I know everyone’s slammed this week” or “Let’s be mindful of calendars.” This shows empathy while being complicit in the very problem you’re describing.

4. Always End Ambiguously

Never make decisions. Decisions belong to the real meeting. Instead, end with:

“I think we’re in a good place for tomorrow.”

Which means nothing, and that’s the point.

Pre-Meetings: A Safe Space for Uncertainty

The beauty of pre-meetings is that no one expects resolution. They’re emotional support meetings — a time to air confusion, raise theoretical blockers, and prepare everyone to look composed in front of senior leadership.

It’s the dry run for the performance. The dress rehearsal for the soft launch of the internal pilot of the MVP.

What If You Just… Didn’t Have the Pre-Meeting?

Please. Let’s be serious.

Without pre-meetings:

• People would say reckless things in public meetings, like new ideas
• Stakeholders would learn things in real time and possibly react
• You’d have to condense actual decisions into a single calendar event

This is not the world we want to live in.

Final Thoughts: All Meetings Must Be Fractal

Every good meeting contains the seed of another meeting.

Pre-meetings ensure:

• There is always a next step
• No one is surprised
• Everyone is gently and perpetually misaligned, but in a socially acceptable way

So the next time someone invites you to a quick sync before the actual sync, don’t groan. Just say:

“Perfect — let’s align ahead of alignment.”

You’re not wasting time. You’re collaborating responsibly.