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The Two-Question Prep Card
One page to fill in before a real conversation, with a person or an AI tool. You hold half the facts; the other side holds the rest.
Download the prep card (A4 PDF, 94 KB) ↓ US Letter PDF, 87 KB ↓
How to use the card
Using the card for a meeting that has to reach a decision? Read the guide on what to prepare before a meeting where something has to be decided: a short, plain walk through the facts you hold and the two questions to bring, with a worked example.
Before
Write what you know and what you are missing, and who holds the missing half.
Two questions
Ask for the missing facts, not for agreement, and name the one person who can answer each.
After
Note what you learned and what is still unknown. Your next step stays a proposal until the owner confirms it.
The card, with a fictional example
Ask Two Questions · prep card
Before you say yes, ask two questions.
For your next real conversation, with a person or an AI tool. You hold half the facts; the other side holds the rest. Fill this in first.
1What I know
My half: facts only. Dates, hours, records, what was agreed.
2What I'm missing
Their half: what they know that I don't, and who holds it.
3The one fact I'll share
The fact from my half they need before they can decide.
4The two questions I'll ask
Ask for the missing facts, not for agreement. Short and answerable: how much, which, who.
5Who decides
Who owns the date, the scope, the access or the record?
6My next step
A proposal, not a promise, until the person who decides confirms it.
The other side is an AI tool. What did it actually check, and what did it assume? I'll verify ______________________________ before I rely on it.
Fictional exampleFixed Deadline case
- Situation
- The Client asks: can you get all of it done by Friday noon?
- 1 What I know
- Friday noon is fixed. The demo needs core and handoff; polish is optional.
- 2 Missing
- How many hours are free, and how long each part takes (Alex knows both).
- 3 I'll share
- With the Client, once Alex answers: the full version is 7 hours of work.
- 4 I'll ask
- “How many hours do you have before Friday noon?” · “How long does each part take?” (both to Alex)
- 5 Who decides
- The Client owns the Friday demo and decides when the polish happens. Alex holds the hours and the estimates.
- After
- 5h free, nothing extra. Core 3h + handoff 1h = 4h fits in 5h; with polish 3h it is 7h.
- 6 Next step
- “Yes to core + handoff by Friday noon. Can we decide on the polish separately?” Polish: confirm with the demo owner.
The worked example on the card is a fictional practice case (Fixed Deadline, the Friday deadline). Keep names and confidential details off your own card; it is yours, not an assessment. Prefer plain text? Copy the prep template. Want to practice first? Play the free Friday deadline case.
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