Meetings are a stage - Speak with depth. Be seen, stand out

One sentence in a meeting can stick in people's minds, and you stand out. We all seek to be this contributor with a genius comment. And it is so easy:

"According to a survey by Harvard Business Review, only 17% of executives believe their meetings are productive and valuable. This is largely due to poor planning and lack of preparation. In fact, 63% of meetings don't have a set agenda, and 37% don't have any agenda at all." [1]

Overnight success and genius moments only exist in Hollywood. The truth is that success is always the result of hard work. Everybody can stand out. Let's dive in and make you a meeting genius with 4 tactics and in less than 4 minutes.

Tactic 1: Before the Meeting — Know the Type

You don’t need to speak in every meeting. It depends on the meeting format, the purpose, and whether it’s time to listen, support, or challenge. Let's take a look:

Meeting Types:

• Informational - e.g. All Hands Calls, Town Halls, Announcements. Ask clarifying or amplifying questions. No need to dominate.
• Decision-making - e.g. Product A or B. Bring trade-offs, risks, and stakeholder perspectives.
• Working sessions - e.g. What products or approaches do exist? Add details, remove blockers, keep momentum.
• Steering/Executive reviews - e.g. Present results and get the buy-in. Be concise. Focus on impact, outcomes, and ownership.

Read these types again because all points can be a newsletter on its own, e.g., how to find and evaluate risk? Do I know the impact and ownership of each action item? The bottom line is:

This all happens before the meeting. Let's dive into the meeting.

Tactic 2: The Beginning – Set the Right Frame

A good advice is always to prepare one question at the beginning. Ask a question in the first 10 minutes. The people see, hear, and keep you in their mind. 63% of meetings don't have an agenda. I tell you what happens in 100% of cases:

Start with questions that elevate the room's thinking.

Strategic Questions to Ask Early:

• “What are we trying to solve here?”
• “What would an ideal outcome look like?”
• “What’s the challenge behind this topic?”
• “How does this connect to X or Y initiative?”
• “What’s the constraint we’re solving against?”

Wait for the answer and add: "OK, let's write that down as a goal. Agree?"

You are instantly respected. You show a strategic, structured, and efficient mindset.

BOOM. You are less than 10 minutes in the meeting and have gained respect.

Tactic 3: The Middle – Go Deep with Purpose

Now, we know what the goal of the meeting is. But trust me, people do know why. This is your moment. Use the tactic to ask the inner Why x5. Let me provide an example:

You’re in a meeting where a colleague proposes:

“We should redesign the customer onboarding flow.”

You're tempted to just say: "Sounds good." But why we are doing this:

1. Why do we want to redesign the onboarding flow?
   → Because customers are dropping off before completing registration.
2. Why are they dropping off?
   → Because the form is too long and confusing.
3. Why is the form long and confusing?
   → Because different departments added fields over time to capture their own data.
4. Why did they add those fields without a central review?
   → Because there’s no owner for the full onboarding experience — each team acts independently.
5. Why is there no single owner?
   → Because we never defined end-to-end ownership for customer experience.

So the problem is not the onboarding. The problem is a lack of ownership. Do you see the difference and the power?

Use some of these strategic prompts to frame your observation:

• “Who’s not in the room that might have a view?”
• “Can I challenge this assumption for a second?”
• “What would happen if we did the opposite?”
• “What’s the impact if we get this wrong?”

Ask Inner “Why x5”. This kind of input positions you as a next-level thinker — someone who doesn’t just fix symptoms but uncovers patterns.

Tactic 4: The Ending – Think Beyond the Next Step

Next steps - we all know this point. This only points to the very next step: Plan the timeline, Create a one-pager, Inform the customer, etc. OK, got it.

Don’t just confirm what’s next. Stretch it. Be the person who sees around the corner by asking about the Next-to-the-Next-to... point.

Go From
→ “Next Step”
To
→ “Next-to-the-Next”
→ “Next-to-the-Next-to-the-Next”

Example from above - We found an owner for the onboarding.

1. Next: What does his manager say?
2. Next: The Manager might say: we need to inform other departments to avoid conflict/politics.
3. Next: Which are these other departments?
4. Next: What concern could they have?
5. Next: How to answer these concerns?
6. Next: ...

This causal cascade of 'Nexts' generates a complete picture. Again, you create a picture of a strategic thinker with knowledge of the details.

Summary

It is easy to stand out in meeting with the right preparation. First be aware of the type of meeting and your contribution. Note that 63% of meetings miss an agenda. Speak early and ask questions about the goal of the meeting. Ask inner Why 5 times and root to the strategic purpose. Share your findings and position yourself as strategic thinker. For each major conclusion find the next-to-the-next-to-the-next point. This positions you as a doer. Four easy steps and people keep you in mind. Be the person who makes a meeting a success.

Sources:
[1] https://www.goldenstepsaba.com/resources/time-wasted-in-meetings