Hey #PipelineWriters, I've been racking up my fair share of general meetings lately, and thought I'd share a pattern I noticed in what meetings have gone the best, to maybe help ease some nerves for those of you just getting to this stage...

1/10

First, what does it mean for a general meeting to have "gone well?"

It means you've opened a new door. That's it. Literally. It means you've made a meaningful connection that begins a new relationship in a business that is forged entirely on the strength of relationships.

2/10

A general meeting is not a pitch meeting and it is not a job interview. So relax. While most will end with the exec saying "I'd love to find something to work with you on," you want the meeting to end with them saying it enthusiastically, and of course, actually meaning it.

3/10

So the pattern is: All of my best meetings so far have involved the conversation veering away from the film industry (or at least, away from the idea of "this is a work meeting") into a broad range of any other topic. We'll just start talking about any other thing we like.

4/10

We'll talk music, who our favorite artists are, or riff about our favorite composers. I got a script request once becuase both me and the exec were craving Nicholas Britell to score a thriller or horror film. Turns out, I wrote one with that exact goal in mind. Go figure.

5/10

We've talked philosophy, specifically exploring existentialism and absurdism from POVs other than white males. Contemporary artists, and next we're swapping links to paintings we like. We recommend books to each other. This morning I got a great recommendation for donuts.

6/10

Sure, we'll cover the basics of "Who are you, what are you working on, what's your company's mandate, etc." and all that stuff too. But then we go beyond that and form a deeper understanding of the person on the other side of the desk/screen. An actual, genuine connection.

7/10

But if none of these meetings have specifically resulted in a job, why do I consider them to be "the best?"

Because every single one of them ends with the exec excited to know more. Excited to read any other script I have, any idea I want to bounce off of them, anything.

8/10

They're sending emails to me afterwards to follow up. They wanted to see the WIP cut of my film, and then they wanted to watch it again when it was done. They wanted to be the first to know when I had a new script ready.

This is your ideal outcome. Forget jobs for a while.

9/10

I got staffed last year thanks to a pilot I wrote with a partner 5 years prior. You're here to play a long game, and generals are how you lay that foundation. Treat them like conversations you'd have at a bar. Zero pressure environments. Relax and have fun making a friend.

10/10