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storytelling with data podcast: #71 pre-reads are risky business

·25 min·1 clip

Alex says, "I am not a fan of pre-reads," and declines most requests to send content before meetings.

1. Storytelling with Data podcast #71, "pre-reads are risky business," starts with Alex connecting a medical intake questionnaire to meeting materials sent before a presentation. 2. Alex, the host, frames the episode around his own experience as a patient and his role as someone who creates and presents data stories. 3. The episode asks whether pre-reads actually help meetings, or whether they create extra work and inconsistent attendance. 4. Alex defines pre-reads as material sent to attendees before a meeting or presentation, then says they can improve questions and participation in theory. 5. He argues that pre-reads only work if organizers create both presented slides and summarized advance material. 6. He also says attendees need enough time and willingness to read before the meeting, which he says is rare in typical business settings. 7. Alex describes the most common shortcut: using the same slide deck as both the presentation and the pre-read. 8. He says slide decks are visual aids meant to be narrated, so they often do not make sense without a presenter. 9. He warns that adding more text to make slides readable in advance can make them worse during the live meeting. 10. He says a fully written document can work as a pre-read, but presenting it aloud can feel like reading to an audience. 11. Alex says the mixed-audience problem appears when some attendees read the material and others arrive unprepared. 12. He says the presenter then has to choose between starting at the beginning or jumping into discussion, and either choice loses part of the room. 13. Alex says he would rather spend time making concise presentation materials, practicing delivery, and facilitating discussion. 14. He says many requests for pre-reads are actually requests for feedback, agenda clarity, or something to reference after the meeting. 15. He distinguishes post-reads from pre-reads and says post-reads work better because attendees already have context from the live meeting. 16. He says an executive summary slide can satisfy some requests, and he notes that he creates one for every presentation as part of his process. 17. Alex shifts into a workshop question about slide templates and says his ideal template preloads colors, fonts, layouts, disclaimers, and images. 18. He warns that a template can become too prescriptive, which he illustrates with a team template that fixed graphs, colors, slide titles, and slide order. 19. The episode stays conversational and practical, with Alex answering recent workshop questions and moving between examples, cautions, and process tips. 20. People who make slide decks, lead meetings, or handle internal presentations will likely get the most value from this episode. 21. People looking for a narrative story or a technical data deep dive may skip it.

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