Warning: A client meeting in a coffee shop last month totally flipped how I handle prep work.

I was meeting a new client at a place in Portland to go over a project plan. I had my laptop ready, but right as I started talking, the battery died because I forgot my charger. I had to explain everything from memory, which actually made the conversation way more direct and clear. Now I'm torn, because part of me thinks over-prepping with slides can make meetings stiff, but another part knows I got lucky that time. Has a simple mistake ever changed your routine for the better?

3 comments

3 Comments

shah.zara2mo ago

Ever read about how Steve Jobs banned PowerPoint at Apple? He said it forced people to think and know their stuff. Your story totally reminds me of that. I try to keep my notes to a short bullet point list now, just to keep the conversation from getting too scripted.

noahhall2mo ago

Do you ever feel like bullet points can still make a talk too stiff?

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lily_schmidt538d ago

Cut the bullet points down to just keywords instead. That way you have a quick reminder of what comes next without reading whole sentences off the screen. I've found it makes the whole thing feel more like a normal conversation and less like a presentation.