What should I ask at the meeting about this quarterly report?
Read this quarterly report. I am [role] attending [meeting] to decide [decision]. Prepare a one-page meeting brief: three relevant findings, three risks and five questions I should ask. Reference pages for figures and distinguish actual results, forecasts and assumptions. Explain any comparison with a changed period or definition. Do not fill missing information from memory or assume the report's recommendation is correct.
Make it yours: Include the report's purpose and your decision, not just 'summarise this'.
A useful follow-up
Which question should I ask first because its answer could change the decision?
02
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Identify the report's purpose before summarising
Read this report and identify its stated purpose, author, commissioning organisation, intended audience, publication date, scope and method. Cite the relevant page or section. Separate explicit statements from your interpretation of what the report is trying to achieve. List missing context that affects how it should be read.
Make it yours: Include appendices, methodology and commissioning details when available.
A useful follow-up
Which questions would this report be poorly suited to answer, even if its own conclusions are correct?
03
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Analyse a report from your role
I am [role] at [organisation] and must decide [decision]. Use this report to answer [questions]. For each answer show the claim, source reference, evidence, limitation and consequence for my decision. Prioritise what falls within my responsibility. If the report cannot answer a question, identify the missing evidence.
Make it yours: State your deadline and what happens if the decision is wrong.
A useful follow-up
What would another stakeholder with [role] question about your recommendation?
04
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Audit the report's headline claims
Audit these claims from the report: [claims]. Reconstruct the supporting evidence and check the population, period, definitions, comparison and units. Explain whether each claim is directly supported, partly supported or unresolved. Reference the source and show calculation steps where possible. Do not convert association into a causal explanation.
Make it yours: Provide the original charts and footnotes, not just an executive summary.
A useful follow-up
Which caveat would most change a reader's interpretation of the headline?
05
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Prepare questions for the report author
Prepare questions for the author of this report before our [meeting]. Focus on the assumptions that matter to [decision]. For each question explain the source passage, why the answer matters and what evidence would resolve it. Prioritise five questions and avoid questions already answered clearly in the document.
Make it yours: Tell the model which decisions are still open.
A useful follow-up
Rewrite the questions to be neutral and specific enough that a vague response is easy to spot.
06
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Compare recommendations with implementation capacity
Evaluate this report's recommendation against our actual capacity: [people, budget, systems and timing]. Separate requirements stated in the report from requirements you infer. Identify dependencies and potential bottlenecks. Propose a small pilot with observable success criteria and explain which risks the pilot will not resolve.
Make it yours: Provide real resource constraints rather than an ideal operating model.
A useful follow-up
What must be true before we can responsibly expand the pilot?
07
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Write a decision memo with uncertainty intact
Turn this report analysis into a decision memo for [audience]. Include the decision, credible options, evidence, risks, recommendation and open questions. Cite consequential claims. Show what would change the recommendation. Keep the memo within [length] without removing qualifications that alter the meaning.
Make it yours: State whether the meeting is for approval, discussion or oversight.
A useful follow-up
Identify the strongest counterargument and whether our evidence actually addresses it.