I don’t have time to read a long brief or a strategy document that needlessly ends up sitting in my inbox. That’s true for anyone who runs a strategy or adjacent business like mine.
Recently, I discovered this underrated feature in NotebookLM that completely changed how I prepare for meetings. Instead of stopping to read all these documents, I started listening, and it’s been a huge productivity booster.
Why Audio Overviews work so well for meeting preparation
Turn a stack of notes into a personal podcast
The feature is exceptionally simple. NotebookLM’s Audio Overview feature takes whatever you’ve uploaded into the Notebook, like a PDF, a Google Docs file, pasted text, or a URL, and generates a podcast-style discussion between two AI hosts.
The speech synthesis here is fantastic, and you get an actual back-and-forth conversation where the host explains, connects ideas, and flags all the important bits from your input.
I am still surprised to say that the output sounds like a well-produced briefing, not something that’s reading my documents back to me.
For meeting prep, my workflow is straightforward. I add whatever essential inputs and briefing docs I come across into a notebook.
A few hours before the meeting, I do additional research and drop everything relevant in there. This could include pre-read documents, previous meeting notes, and any background context.
Then I just tap Generate on the Audio Overview, and while it processes, I can grab a coffee. Within minutes, the overview is ready.
If I’m commuting, trying to get in a workout before my meeting, or doing other tasks, I can play this in the background. It gives me 20 to 30 minutes of context-rich conversation about the exact material I have to discuss.
By the end of it, I’m not just caught up. I’m thinking in a more connected way because the conversation isn’t just a step-by-step walk through my notes. It also tries to connect the dots.
Forget about meeting preparation. I wish I had this when I was at university.
Ample customization opportunities
Completely tunable to your personal requirements
NotebookLM’s default generate-and-listen workflow is valuable on its own. However, if you want to get granular, there are plenty of customization options that can enhance the experience.
Tap the arrow button to open a full customization menu where you can give the AI hosts natural-language instructions.
For a client meeting, I would prompt it to focus on the commercial and marketing context and skip the technical background, since it isn’t needed for that specific meeting.
Similarly, for a strategy session, I might ask the AI hosts to focus on open questions and areas where I’m in disagreement or have conflicting thoughts. The AI hosts automatically follow the instructions and adjust the output.
In addition to custom instructions, a few essential toggles adapt the experience to your needs.
For example, the deep-dive format gives you a more exploratory conversation, which can be great for learning about a topic.
Meanwhile, the brief format is exactly what it sounds like: perfect for catching up on information in a short amount of time, with its tighter and faster output.
You’ll also find an interactive mode, which is useful when you have more time on hand to prepare for a big meeting.
When the audio is playing, you can jump in with a question. The AI hosts will stop and answer that question using only your own sources, and then pick back up where they left off.
This interactive mode is excellent for poking and prodding into your notes and can help you when preparing for, say, a pitch.
As someone who dabbles in analog living, this entire process has one added benefit. The generated audio is downloadable as an MP3.
I can add it to my podcast app or MP3 player, like an iPod, and continue listening without distractions. I don’t need to be on a laptop or on a smartphone to access all of this information.
For someone who is easily distracted, this is a huge benefit.
Less catching up, more being prepared
At the end of the day, this won’t be a night-and-day difference over how prepared you’ll be for your meetings.
You still have to listen to the audio and make sure you are well-informed about what you are talking about.
What changes, though, is how much information you can absorb and how quickly you can absorb it.
Listening tends to be much faster than reading. And since this is a conversation, not just somebody reading back your own notes, you’re effectively listening to something more entertaining, more engaging.
Effectively, an AI host that is teaching you from your own notes.
Plus, it helps that Notebook LM’s free tier covers all of this. You get the benefit of productivity and improved preparedness without spending a single dollar.
Even if you are on the fence about using audio to prepare for your meetings, there is absolutely no harm in giving it a shot at the free price point.
