A five-minute one-on-one guide · English

No agenda for your one-on-one?

A blank agenda does not need to become a status interrogation or a hunt for something personal. Here is a small opening you can offer. If it produces no useful topic, ending early is a valid outcome.

Before the meeting: pick one work question

Think of one decision, obstacle, or piece of context you could help with. If you owe a follow-up from last time, bring that first. Do not ask your colleague to prepare a personal update just to fill the time.

Open with a real choice

“We don't need to fill the whole slot. Is there a decision, obstacle, or bit of context you'd like to use this time for? If not, we can try a short opener or finish early.”

Let the other person choose. A project name or “nothing today” is a complete answer. If a work topic appears, use the meeting for that topic; you do not need the exercise below.

If you both want an opener

Offer a plain question first: “What would make next week a little easier at work?” It can be answered with a task, a decision, or “I don't know.” If the question feels too pointed, you can offer a picture instead.

A painted bedroom with blue walls, a green-framed window, a wooden bed with a red cover, two yellow chairs, a small table and framed pictures. — Vincent van Gogh, *The Bedroom*, 1889. Art Institute of Chicago, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection. Museum record and image source.

Look at the painting for a moment and ask: “Which detail catches your eye?” Naming a color or object is enough. Do not infer how someone feels from their answer or require a connection to work. Either person can skip the picture without explaining why.

End with a useful choice

“Is there anything from this that you want to take into the rest of our conversation, or shall we stop here?”

If there is a concrete work decision, agree who will do what next. If there isn't, give the time back. Record only work actions you both chose, not which opener they picked or what they noticed in the painting. Ask afresh next time instead of assuming they want the same format again.

Use it without preparation

Open the free picture and question cards if you want a different pair. No sign-up is needed, and the reader does not collect your conversation. If your meetings already happen in Miro, you can copy the Artful Miroverse template into your own workspace; using a Miro template requires a Miro account.

For an opening when you do have an agenda but want a gentle check-in, see the check-in guide. These scripts were prepared by AI agents. We have not established that they improve meetings.