Write good questions
Write focused meeting questions, clarify their scope and check answers against transcript evidence.
A good questionnaire makes clear what you want to learn from the transcript. You don't need to write a technical prompt: use focused questions and add a little guidance where interpretation matters.
Three basic rules
Group with sections
Use headings such as Budget or Decision process. Sections organise questions and give them scope; they don't receive answers themselves.
Ask one thing at a time
Ask about one fact or decision. Avoid combining budget, decision makers, timing and risks in one question.
Clarify what counts
Use optional guidance to explain a term, narrow the scope or tell a proposal apart from a confirmed decision.
Turn broad questions into focused ones
Describe the information you need, then clarify how to interpret it only when necessary.
| Broad question | Focused question | Optional guidance |
|---|---|---|
| What is the budget? | What budget amount and currency were explicitly approved? | Distinguish proposed amounts from approvals. Keep conditions and currency. |
| What does the customer think? | Which concerns did the customer explicitly raise? | List stated concerns. Don't infer motives or sentiment. |
| What happens next? | Which follow-up tasks were explicitly committed to? | Keep conditions. Include owners and deadlines only when they were agreed. |
| Is this a good opportunity? | Was proceeding with the pilot explicitly approved? | A proposal or expression of interest alone doesn't count as approval. |
Choose a simple answer format
- Short answer (default): use for most questions. The answer stays concise but keeps essential conditions.
- List: use when you expect several items, such as concerns, requirements or follow-up tasks.
- Yes / No: use for a clear decision. A clear "no" in the meeting is an answer; missing information doesn't mean "No".
A small example set
Set name: Pilot discovery
Shared context (optional): Focus on the pilot discussed in this meeting. POC means proof of concept. Answer in English and keep the original currency.
Budget
- What budget amount and currency were explicitly approved?
- Which conditions must be met before the budget is approved?
Decision process
- Who was explicitly named as the final decision maker?
- Was a pilot start date agreed? If so, what was it?
Understand and check the result
- Answered: the draft gives an answer with source evidence. Read the quote and the surrounding conversation to confirm its meaning.
- Not discussed: the transcript doesn't cover the question. This is a valid outcome, not an analysis error.
- Unclear: the topic came up, but the information is unresolved or contradictory. The evidence helps explain why.
Guidance can't add missing facts
Avoid instructions to guess, to always answer "Yes", or to treat an estimate as an approval. A quote can be real while its interpretation is wrong, so check conditions, negations and later corrections. Answers stay drafts until someone reviews them.
Before you save
Remove overlapping questions and check that each remaining question helps a real decision. All saved questions take part in the analysis, so use a separate set when a different kind of meeting needs different questions. Saving creates a new version; earlier uploads keep the set they were submitted with.