If your team isn't preparing for meetings, start by showing them how. Open a real update. Explain what makes it useful. Then give everyone time to write their own while you are available to help.
Matt's advice is practical: people need to experience success with a new method before they are likely to keep using it.
Start in the room
For the first meeting, reserve time for writing and reading. Show your own preparation first. Let people ask questions. Then have everyone write, read each other's updates, and add comments before discussion begins.
This takes meeting time. That's intentional. You are teaching the routine rather than assuming everyone already knows it.
For example, show a short update about a delayed project. Include the current status, the blocker, and the proposed next action. Let the group see what “prepared” looks like.
Move one step earlier
Once the group can prepare together, ask people to write before the next meeting. Keep shared reading time at the beginning.
If someone struggles to find writing time, schedule a short preparation session immediately beforehand. Make it easy to succeed instead of turning the missed preparation into a public test of commitment.
Try advance reading when the group is ready
The next step is to submit updates early enough for everyone else to read and comment before the meeting. Agree on the submission deadline and leave a realistic reading window.
This only works when the whole chain works: writing, submission, reading, and comments. If updates arrive at the last minute, the readers cannot do their part.
Keep the stage that works
Matt notes that many teams stay at the middle stage: write in advance, read together. That is a useful operating routine.
If preparation slips, return to a stage the team can reliably complete. Help the person who is stuck. Don't shame them.
At the end of the meeting, ask what made preparation difficult and what would help next time. Fix the obstacle you hear. The aim is a team that comes ready to contribute, not a perfect process on paper.