Ian McDonald AILearn with Ian / conversations into action
Good meeting.
Now follow through.
Turn a discovery call into a proposal, a personal follow-up, and a clear next appointment—with Gemini helping you prepare each step.
9½-minute edited lesson · 6 practical steps · Copyable prompts
- 01Inquiry + websiteUnderstand the business
- 02Discovery callCapture what matters
- 03Proposal + follow-upMake a useful draft
- 04Next appointmentKeep the work moving
You approve.
What you’ll walk away with
A conversation that
actually goes somewhere.
- A brief and five questions for the call
- A proposal grounded in the meeting
- A follow-up ready for your approval
- A verified time and a tracked next action
Watch it happen
One relationship.
One Gemini conversation.
One edited lesson from Ian’s August 25, 2026 workshop run-through with Maria Elena Duron. Follow the real app demonstration with close-ups, highlights, and notes beside the screen.
9:29 · Ian’s own narration · Use full screen for the details and CC for captions.
Jump to a chapter
The inquiry and meeting transcript were staged with Ariel Santos’s permission, using her real business as context. This is a demonstration, not a client case study. The two recordings have been combined, with long pauses, the restart, and navigation detours removed. Ian’s own voice carries the lesson.
The working stack
Tools used
Gemini carries the context. The Google apps give the information—and the next action—a place to live.
Google Gemini
LLM / AI assistantResearch, carry the context, and prepare drafts.
by Google
Google Meet
Conversation / meeting captureHold the discovery call. Use a transcript or your own notes.
by Google
Google Drive
Source / connected appKeep the meeting transcript available to reference.
by Google
Google Docs
Proposal / working documentReview and refine the proposal before sharing.
by Google
Gmail
Follow-up / connected appReview the message and choose when to send it.
by Google
Google Calendar
Scheduling / connected appVerify your availability and reserve the next step.
by GoogleBefore you start: connections, transcripts, and a manual path
Use the same Google account in Gemini and the apps you need. If you want Gemini to reference Drive or Calendar, check its Connected Apps settings and any settings managed by your organization. Availability and allowed actions vary by account and plan.
Google Meet transcription requires an eligible edition. This demo starts with an existing, staged transcript; it does not demonstrate recording or transcribing the call.
No connector or transcript? Use your own meeting notes, paste the relevant text into Gemini, copy the proposal to Docs, check Calendar yourself, and draft the email in Gmail. You can still complete the lesson.
Use information you have permission to process and check your account’s data settings. The example’s privacy requirements are discussion points, not a guarantee about any product.
Google’s Connected Apps guidance ↗ · Google Meet transcription requirements ↗
Keep the thread
The context stays.
The work moves forward.
Bring the inquiry, business research, and meeting notes into the same conversation. Each draft starts with what you already learned.
01 / Bring the context
02 / Keep one conversation
Start with
what matters.
- Their priorities
- Their constraints
- Your commitments
03 / Prepare the next step
Connected context. Useful drafts. Your approval.
Your turn
Six moves.
Keep the context.
Start with one inquiry or recent conversation. These prompts adapt the demonstrated workflow for your business; they are not verbatim transcripts of Ian’s prompts.
Arrive with better questions.
Start a Gemini conversation with the inquiry and the business’s public website. Ask what the business does, what the person needs, and what you still need to learn. Keep this conversation for the rest of the workflow.
In the lesson · inquiry, website research, and discovery questions
I’m preparing for a discovery call with [NAME] at [BUSINESS]. Here is their inquiry: [PASTE EMAIL]. Their website is [WEBSITE]. Research the public website and summarize what they do, who they serve, and what they are asking me for. Separate facts from your suggestions and link to your sources. If you cannot access the website, ask me to paste the relevant text. Give me five focused discovery questions about their priorities, current workflow, constraints, privacy requirements, and what success would look like. Use plain language. Do not contact anyone.
Open the website yourself. Are the business details correct? Do the five questions help you understand the work before suggesting a solution?
You now have: A short business brief + five discovery questions.
Bring the conversation back.
Add the meeting transcript or your own notes to the same Gemini conversation. In the demo, Ian references a staged transcript in Google Drive. Identify the exact file by title and participants; check that Gemini used the right meeting.
In the lesson · transcript referenced through Google Drive
Continue with the same business and discovery call. Use [EXACT TRANSCRIPT TITLE] in Google Drive, for [PARTICIPANTS] on [DATE]. If you cannot access that file, ask me to paste or upload the transcript instead. First identify the source you used. Then summarize the priorities, constraints, decisions, open questions, and commitments. Put action items in a table with owner and due date. Mark anything unstated as “not agreed”; do not invent it. Distinguish a target or suggestion from a commitment. Do not create or send anything yet.
Compare the summary with your notes. Check names, owners, dates, and which next steps were actually agreed.
You now have: A checked meeting summary and action list.
Draft a proposal you can defend.
Use the meeting context to produce a proposal. Ian opens the resulting Google Doc and scrolls through it. Give the document a useful title and inspect the actual content before sharing it.
In the lesson · generated proposal opened and reviewed in Docs
Using the checked meeting summary, draft a proposal for [BUSINESS]. Include the problem in their words, objectives, proposed scope, deliverables, responsibilities, timeline, open questions, and next step. Clearly label anything suggested rather than agreed. Leave price and unconfirmed dates as [TO CONFIRM]. Do not promise savings, compliance, or privacy guarantees we have not verified. Show me the draft for review. I will then save or export it to Google Docs as “[BUSINESS] — Draft proposal”. Do not share the document or change its access.
Read the Doc itself. Confirm scope, price, timeline, and sharing permissions. Goals from a discovery call are not guaranteed results.
You now have: A reviewed proposal draft in Google Docs.
Find a time. Check the date.
Ask Gemini to check your own calendar if that connection is available. Verify the suggested slot in Google Calendar yourself. A free slot on your calendar does not mean the other person has accepted it.
In the lesson · Calendar availability checked for the proposed time
Check my Google Calendar for a [DURATION]-minute follow-up with [NAME] between [START DATE] and [END DATE]. My time zone is [TIME ZONE]. Suggest up to three open slots during [WORKING HOURS]. Show each complete date, day of week, time, and time zone. If you cannot access my calendar, ask me for my available times. Do not create an event or invite anyone.
Open Calendar. Match the full date, time, time zone, and duration. Resolve any disagreement between the transcript, proposal, and suggested slot.
You now have: One or more verified times to propose.
Write the email. Then approve it.
Ask for a short follow-up that connects the conversation, the draft proposal, and the proposed time. In the recording, Gemini shows a Gmail draft and Ian explicitly approves sending. In your own workflow, stop at the draft until you have checked every detail.
In the lesson · Gmail draft, explicit approval, and sent confirmation
Draft a follow-up email to [NAME] at [VERIFIED EMAIL]. Thank them for our conversation, briefly recap their main priority, introduce the draft proposal, and suggest [VERIFIED DATE, TIME, TIME ZONE] for a [DURATION]-minute review. Ask whether that works for them. Use [PROPOSAL LINK] only if I have checked the link and their access; otherwise leave a clear placeholder. Keep it warm, concise, and in my voice. Show the subject, recipient, and body for review. Draft only. Do not send.
Check the recipient, proposal link/access, tone, and proposed time. Remove placeholders. Send from Gmail only after you approve the complete message.
You now have: A personal follow-up ready for your approval.
Give the next action a place.
Reserve the proposed time on your own calendar if useful. Keep it clearly tentative until the other person confirms. Finish by checking the email, proposal, and calendar rather than relying on a chat response alone.
In the lesson · placeholder created and opened in Google Calendar
Prepare a private calendar hold for [VERIFIED DATE, TIME, TIME ZONE], lasting [DURATION]. Title it “Tentative — [NAME] proposal review”. Include a short agenda and [PROPOSAL LINK]. Do not add guests or send invitations. Show all event details first and wait for my approval before creating it. If you cannot create the event, give me the details to add manually.
Confirm the hold exists on the correct calendar. Check date/time again. Track “awaiting confirmation”; invite the other person only when you intend to do so.
You now have: A tentative hold and a clear next action.
Close the loop
Check the facts.
Check the voice.
Check the next step.
A transcript is business memory. The follow-through is what you do with it.
A draft is a decision point.
Nothing goes out without you.
Your five checks
- The proposal reflects the conversation.
- The email has the correct recipient and link.
- The full date, time, and time zone match.
- A tentative hold is marked tentative.
- You know who is doing what next.
Keep it handy
The lesson workbench
Use the original teaching map, then apply the workflow to one relationship of your own.