Using ChatGPT to Prepare for a Meeting

Introduction

Whether presenting or participating as a listener, the ability to ask relevant and insightful questions is crucial. It drives understanding, fosters engagement, and leads to more productive discussions.

This tutorial is ideal for professionals, researchers, students, and anyone involved in meetings where user research is discussed. We will utilize ChatGPT, a powerful AI tool, to demonstrate how to generate and analyze effective questions. By the end of this tutorial, we will not only be able to craft better questions but also understand the reasoning behind them, thereby enhancing our professional communication skills.

The Importance of Questions in Meetings

Questions are the backbone of effective communication in any meeting. They serve several key purposes:

Driving Understanding: Questions help clarify and delve deeper into the subject matter, ensuring that all participants have a clear understanding.

Encouraging Participation: Well-crafted questions can engage participants, encouraging a more lively and interactive meeting environment.

Facilitating Decision Making: Inquisitive discussions often lead to better decision-making, as they bring different perspectives and ideas to the forefront.

Types of Questions

Understanding diverse types of questions can significantly enhance your questioning strategy:

Open-ended Questions: These invite elaborate responses and encourage discussion.

• “What were the key findings from the user research?”

Closed-ended Questions: These are straightforward and typically elicit a short, concise response.

• “Did the user research include participants from different age groups?”

Probing Questions: Used to delve deeper into a topic or get more specific information.

• “Can you explain how the user feedback influenced the final design?”

Clarifying Questions: Aimed at ensuring understanding and clearing up ambiguities.

• “Could you clarify what you mean by ‘user engagement’ in this context?”

Understanding and using these types of questions effectively can enhance the productivity and outcome of any meeting, especially one involving complex topics like user research.

Setting the Scenario - User Research Presentation

Definition: “User Research” - the systematic investigation of users and their requirements, to add context and insight into the process of designing and developing products and services.

Imagine we are attending or conducting a meeting where the primary agenda is to discuss the findings of recent user research. This research could be about a new product, a service, or an app, and it aims to gather insights about user behaviors, preferences, and experiences.

Roles in the Scenario

Presenter: The individual or team sharing the findings of the user research. Their goal is to convey key insights effectively and address any questions or concerns from the audience.

Listeners: This group includes other team members, stakeholders, or managers who are there to understand the findings and their implications. They might be looking for specific insights to inform decision-making processes or strategies.

Crafting Questions as a Listener

As a listener, focus on identifying the key pieces of information that are crucial for understanding the research findings. Pay attention to aspects like the user demographics, research methodology, key findings, and recommendations.

Generating Questions

Use ChatGPT to help formulate insightful questions. For example, we can input a summary of the presentation and ask ChatGPT to generate relevant questions. Here is how we can phrase it:

Based on a user research presentation about a new app that targets young adults, focusing on usability and design preferences, what are some insightful questions to ask?

Examples of Effective Questions

About Methodology: “Could you elaborate on how you selected the participants for this user research?”

Regarding Findings: “What were the most surprising user behaviors or preferences you discovered during this research?”

On Implications: “How do you see these findings influencing our product development strategy in the next quarter?”

Seeking Clarification: “Can you give an example of how a particular user feedback led to a significant change in the app’s design?”

These questions are designed to extract deeper insights, clarify methodologies, and understand the practical implications of the research findings.

Crafting Questions as a Presenter

As a presenter, part of our preparation should involve anticipating the questions our audience might have. This foresight helps in tailoring our presentation to address these queries proactively and ensures a more engaging and informative session.

Using ChatGPT for Preparation

We can leverage ChatGPT to brainstorm potential questions our audience might ask. Input a summary of our presentation into ChatGPT with a prompt like:

I'm presenting user research findings on a new educational app targeting college students. What questions might the audience have regarding this research?

Examples of Questions a Presenter Could Ask

Engaging the Audience: “From your perspective, what are the critical features you believe an educational app must have?”

Clarifying Points: “Before I move on, are there any aspects of the research methodology that need further clarification?”

Checking Understanding: “Can someone summarize how they see these findings impacting our marketing strategy?”

Soliciting Feedback: “Based on these findings, what are some areas you think we should explore further?”

These questions are designed to engage the audience, clarify the content being presented, and gather valuable feedback.

Understanding the ‘Why’ Behind Questions

Understanding why certain questions are effective can enhance our questioning skills. ChatGPT can provide explanations for the purpose and impact of different types of questions. For instance, we can ask:

Why is it important to ask about user demographics in user research presentations?

ChatGPT’s explanation might highlight how understanding user demographics can influence product design and marketing strategies.

By comprehending the reasoning behind various questions, we develop a deeper understanding of effective communication in professional settings. This knowledge not only enhances our current role in meetings but also contributes to our overall professional growth. It helps us become more adept at thinking critically about information, fostering a more analytical and strategic approach to discussions and decision-making.

Interactive Exercise

To solidify our learning, let’s practice some concepts. Imagine we are about to attend a meeting where the latest user research on a health and wellness app will be presented. The research focuses on user interface design and user engagement.

Using ChatGPT, generate a set of questions you might ask as a listener in this meeting. Then, switch roles and prepare questions you might pose as a presenter. Here’s how you can structure your prompts to ChatGPT:

As a Listener: What are insightful questions to ask about the user interface design based on the user research findings for a health and wellness app?

As a Presenter: Considering I'm presenting user research on a health and wellness app, what questions should I prepare to engage my audience and check their understanding?

Reflect on each set of questions and consider why they would be effective in the context of the meeting.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we’ve explored the critical role of questions in enhancing the effectiveness of meetings, especially when discussing detailed topics like user research. We have learned how to craft insightful questions as both a listener and a presenter and how to use ChatGPT to aid in this process. Understanding the rationale behind these questions is key to improving our questioning skills and, by extension, our overall communication skills in professional settings.

Effective meetings are not just about sharing information but about fostering an environment of understanding and collaborative thinking. By mastering the art of questioning, we can significantly contribute to making our meetings more productive and insightful. May your next meeting be enriched with thoughtful and impactful questions!

To see what else you can do with ChatGPT (or generative AI in general), checkout some of the topics covered in the articles located here: AI Articles.