Why it matters
Amazon swapped presentations for six-page narrative memos read silently at the start of meetings. Writing in full sentences forces clearer thinking, and reading together ensures everyone has actually absorbed the material before debating it.
How to run it
- Write the narrative. The proposal owner writes a prose memo: context, problem, proposal, risks. No slides.
- Start in silence. The meeting opens with everyone reading — often for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Annotate as you read. Margin notes and questions, not side conversations.
- Discuss. Debate starts only when everyone has finished. Questions are now sharper and based on the same information.
Watch out for
- Allowing bullet points — the discipline is in the prose
- Skipping the reading time because “everyone read it already”
When not to use it
For quick status check-ins or decisions that genuinely fit in a paragraph.