---
title: "Committee prep: three points and three objections"
slug: prep-comite-3-puntos-3-objeciones
lang: en
situation: comunicar
format: plantilla
minutes: 15
updated: 2026-10-19
---

# Committee prep: three points and three objections

> For anyone walking into a meeting where they need a concrete outcome and would rather hear the objections in their head the night before than in the room.

## When to use it

- You are asking for an approval, a budget or a pause and you have 30 minutes on the agenda.
- Last time you left the meeting with "good feedback" and no decision.
- You know who will object and you still do not have a one-line answer for that person.

## The sheet

**Outcome I need when I walk out:** [one sentence: "the committee approves X by date Y"]

**Pre-read (three lines, sent 24 hours before):**
1. [Where we are today, with a number.]
2. [What changed, or what is lost if we do not decide.]
3. [What will be decided in the meeting.]

**Timed agenda (illustrative for 30 minutes):**

| Minute | Block | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Why we are here and what gets decided today | You |
| 3 | Context in two minutes, figures only | You |
| 6 | The options and your recommendation | You |
| 12 | Discussion and objections | Committee |
| 24 | Decision, owner and date | Everyone |
| 30 | End | |

**My three points (in spoken language, the way you would say them):**
1. [Strongest first: the fact or number nobody can argue with.]
2. [Name the obvious objection yourself before they do.]
3. [The ask: the concrete thing you want approved, with a date.]

**The three objections:**

| Objection | Who will raise it | My one-line answer |
|---|---|---|
| [Illustrative: "We tried something like this and it did not work."] | [Name or role] | [Illustrative: "That was a different process; the data we have today is different."] |
| | | |
| | | |

## How to fill it in 15 minutes

1. Write the outcome you need first. If it does not fit in one sentence, you are not ready for the meeting.
2. Write the pre-read. Three lines anyone understands without you in the room.
3. Build the agenda from the end: reserve the last six minutes for the decision and fit the rest around it.
4. Say the three points out loud before writing them. If they sound like a presentation, rewrite them.
5. For each person on the committee, ask yourself what genuinely worries them. That is where the objections and who raises them come from.
6. The most common mistake: preparing twelve points "just in case". With twelve points there is no ask; with three, the committee knows what you are asking for.

## The line that is almost always missing

The agenda row that says "decision". Almost every agenda ends in "discussion" and the discussion eats the time. If the decision has no minutes reserved and nobody to close it, the meeting ends with "let's keep looking at it".

## If this becomes a big decision

If what you are asking for is hard to reverse and carries your name, the free tools at vicsol.org/decision-clarity/ help you structure it. They do not replace a formal review.

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Vic Sol · Decision Desk · vicsol.org/resources/ · Free to use with attribution.
This sheet structures a conversation; it is not legal, financial or audit advice.