How to take minutes at a meeting

Teams often need to follow up or review what they discussed after meetings. Each member needs to know what action items they are responsible for. Meeting minutes are a written record of the important points of a meeting. They're an effective resource for team members and an important way to share information throughout your organization. Giving team members a concise summary of the discussion can help them be more efficient and productive in their work.

Taking minutes in meetings is easier when you know what to include in them. We'll share two different meeting minutes templates. Following these may help your team hold more effective meetings. You'll also find a checklist of essential items to include when writing meeting minutes to be sure you don't overlook any meeting details. 

• What are meeting minutes?
• What should you include in meeting minutes?
• Tips on writing meeting minutes
• Steps to take if you are responsible for taking minutes
• Meeting minute templates you can use
• How much time should you be spending on meeting minutes?
• Can I use AI to write my meeting minutes?
• Conclusion
• FAQs

What are meeting minutes? 

Meeting minutes are written records of the decisions you make during a meeting. They apply to all types of groups within an organization, such as boards of directors, leadership teams, and investors. They are also known as minutes of meetings, or MoM.

This written report can inform team members who were unable to attend what occurred. Maintaining a formal record of decisions and action items lets team members review them later. Minutes from previous meetings can also inform future organizational decisions.

What should you include in meeting minutes? 

Meeting minutes may differ depending on the kind of meeting they record. They typically include the following key components:

• date and time
• location (online or in person)
• attendance and absenteeism
• acceptance or corrections/amendments to previous meeting minutes
• agenda
• decisions
• action points.

Here are some personalized elements you can include in your meeting minutes:

• supplementary documents
• action items
• meeting objectives
• topics for future discussions
• project updates and voting results
• future steps, such as research and follow-ups
• a section defining attendees as guests, non-voters, or speakers.

Tips on writing meeting minutes 

Here are some tips on how to write meeting minutes and how detailed they should be.

Create an outline

Before the meeting, select or design a template to create an outline. Make sure your template has different sections, such as attendees or next steps, to help you organize your notes as you take them. 

Provide meeting information

Include facts such as the meeting location and time. List the meeting participants. 

Record the decisions

Document any decisions the team made throughout the meeting. If these decisions required a vote, include the total number of people who voted for each option. You may also want to keep a record of how many people voted for options that the meeting attendees chose not to pursue. 

Be concise

Don't try to record everything. Record only the most relevant or important ideas you discussed at the meeting. It's okay if your minutes' report doesn't include every detail of the meeting. 

Make an official record of it

Consider recording your meeting using a device, such as a voice recording app on your phone. It's unlikely you'll need to transcribe all that from a recording into your meeting minutes. But it can be useful to record a meeting that moves quickly, has many participants, or covers a wide range of topics. 

Attach supplementary documents

When sending out meeting minutes, attach or link to any relevant supplementary documents. Additional resources may include any papers referenced during the meeting. These can help your colleagues understand the topics more completely. 

Request clarification if needed

Meetings can be chaotic when multiple people speak at once. Make sure you understand the outcomes of the points you're nothing in the minutes. Request clarification if necessary.

Steps to take if you are responsible for taking minutes 

Now we'll dive into steps on how to take minutes in a meeting.

Planning

Following one of our meeting templates, you can create an outline of the main points to cover during the meeting. A meeting minutes template can help you save a lot of time and energy. If you use the same template on a regular basis, you can build some familiarity.

Carefully consider the items to include in your minutes. In a Harvard Business Review article, Steven G. Rogelberg highlights why meeting agendas are so important:

“What matters is not the agenda itself but the relevance and importance of what's on it, and how the leader facilitates discussion of the agenda items.” 

Record-taking at the meeting

Before you begin writing your meeting minutes, note the date and time of the meeting. When the meeting begins, be sure to capture key points, discussions, decisions made, and action items assigned. For example, if a motion was passed, include in your notes who requested it and what it was. Also, record the names of anyone who gave presentations and summarize what was in those presentations. Finally, record the names of all the attendees and any others who could not attend. 

Minutes writing or transcribing

Examine the agenda to get a complete picture of the meeting. Add notes as reminders. Examine actions, motions, votes, and decisions for clarity. Edit the record to make the minutes concise, clear, and easy to read. As part of the minutes process for your meeting, record meeting action items in real-time so that you can accurately transcribe them.

Distribute the minutes among your team

Once you complete the minutes and get them approved, email them to all participants and absent team members. You can easily set the sharing permission to "viewer" for minutes you create in Google Docs. And you can convert a word-processing document into an email-shareable PDF.

Signing, filing, and sharing minutes

When your meeting minutes are complete, you must make them official by having the board secretary sign them. Your organization may also need the president's signature.

Meeting minute templates you can use 

Template 1

[Meeting name/title] meeting minutes

Date: [Date of the Meeting] 

Time: [Time of the Meeting] 

Location: [Location of the Meeting]

Attendees:

• [Name 1]
• [Name 2]
• [Name 3]
• [Name 4]
• [Name 5]
• [Name 6]

Agenda:

1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Review of Previous Meeting Minutes
3. Discussion Item 1: [Topic]
4. Discussion Item 2: [Topic]
5. Action Items
6. Next Meeting Date and Time
7. Adjournment

Meeting Proceedings:

1. Welcome and Introductions:
   • [Chairperson/Leader] welcomed all attendees and introduced the purpose of the meeting.
2. Review of Previous Meeting Minutes:
   • [Secretary/Designated Person] summarized the key points from the previous meeting.
   • Attendees provided any corrections or amendments to the minutes.
3. Discussion Item 1: [Topic]:
   • [Discussion summary, decisions made, actions assigned, etc.]
4. Discussion Item 2: [Topic]:
   • [Discussion summary, decisions made, actions assigned, etc.]
5. Action Items:
   • [Action item 1]: [Assigned to: Name, Deadline: Date]
   • [Action item 2]: [Assigned to: Name, Deadline: Date]
   • [Action item 3]: [Assigned to: Name, Deadline: Date]
6. Next Meeting Date and Time:
   • The next meeting is scheduled for [Date] at [Time] at [Location].
7. Adjournment:
   • The meeting was adjourned at [Time].

Minutes Prepared by: [Name/Designation of the person preparing minutes]

Approved by: [Chairperson/Leader or Designated Approver]

Template 2

Date: [Date of the Meeting] 

Time: [Time of the Meeting] 

Location: [Location of the Meeting]

Attendees:

• [Name 1]
• [Name 2]
• [Name 3]
• [Name 4]
• [Name 5]
• [Name 6]

Minutes Approval:

• The minutes of the meeting held on [Date] were reviewed and approved as drafted.

Meeting Agenda Item 1: [Topic]

• [Summary of discussion, decisions made, etc.]

Meeting Agenda Item 2: [Topic]

• [Summary of discussion, decisions made, etc.]

Action Items:

1. [Action item 1]: [Assigned to: Name, Deadline: Date]
2. [Action item 2]: [Assigned to: Name, Deadline: Date]
3. [Action item 3]: [Assigned to: Name, Deadline: Date]

Next Meeting Date: [Date] 

Next Meeting Time: [Time] 

Next Meeting Location: [Location]

Adjournment:

• The meeting was adjourned at [Time].

Minutes Prepared by: [Name/Designation of the person preparing minutes]

Approved by: [Chairperson/Leader or Designated Approver]

This template helps record meeting minutes in an organized manner, guaranteeing all pertinent details are accurately and completely recorded. Adjust the template as necessary to meet the unique needs and cultures of your group or organization.

How much time should you be spending on meeting minutes? 

When it comes to meeting minutes, quality comes first. While it's critical to accurately record key discussions and decisions, devoting too much time to meeting minutes can be ineffective. A period of 15–30 minutes is reasonable for most meetings. This encourages efficiency without sacrificing accuracy. More complex discussions or high-stakes gatherings may need more time to document thoroughly.

Templates can provide structure and consistency to the process, helping to streamline it and save time. Instead of transcribing every detail, focus on key points to distill information effectively.

Can I use AI to write my meeting minutes? 

Meeting note-taking is no longer a time-consuming task full of inaccuracies and missed details. The introduction of AI in this field has ushered in a new era of precision, efficiency, and convenience. AI-powered tools can listen to, translate, sum up, and even evaluate meeting content. They can convert hours of recordings into actionable recommendations and key insights in minutes. This technological leap not only saves time but also increases team productivity.

Benefits of using artificial intelligence for meeting notes

Including AI in your meeting and note-taking procedure provides several benefits:

Improved accuracy 

AI algorithms are meant to capture what people say with high precision. This can reduce the possibility of errors and capture every detail.

Time efficiency 

Automating the note-taking process allows team members to fully participate in the discussion, knowing there's an accurate record of all information.

Improved organization 

AI tools classify and store notes in an orderly fashion, making it simple to find and retrieve information.

Accessibility 

With AI, you can get meeting notes from anywhere and at any time. This helps remote and distributed teams collaborate more effectively.

Drawbacks of using artificial intelligence for meeting notes

There are some drawbacks to using artificial intelligence for meeting minutes:

Technical knowledge 

AI might have trouble with technical jargon and nuanced conversations.

Data specificity 

It's necessary to have accurate training data that's tailored to your meeting context.

Ethical problems 

There are confidentiality and privacy issues with data storage.

Misinterpretation risk 

AI has the potential to misinterpret discussions or overlook critical information, reducing accuracy.

Before you use an AI notetaker app at your next meeting, ask yourself if you'd record it with a traditional recording device. If not, think twice about using an AI notetaker.

Employee privacy has the protection of several state, federal, and international privacy laws. Some of these carry serious penalties for non-compliance. In the Philippines, employers must abide by the Data Privacy Actwhen using AI-powered tools to process personal information.

Conclusion 

In summary, concise meeting minutes are critical to effective communication. It's important to strike a balance between technology and human judgment. You can view AI as a tool rather than a replacement. Active participation and critical review are essential for accurate documentation and collaboration.

FAQs 

1. What is the purpose of meeting minutes?
   Meeting minutes record discussions, choices, and actions taken. This helps increase accountability, simplicity, and continuity within an organization.
   ⁠
2. How can I improve my note-taking skills in meetings?
   Improve your note-taking abilities during meetings by paying attention, emphasizing key points, using acronyms, and arranging notes logically. Review and summarize them later for clarity.
   ⁠
3. Are there any tools to automate meeting minute generation?
   Otter.ai, Microsoft OneNote, and Google Docs can generate meeting minutes automatically.
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4. What are the best practices for sharing meeting minutes with team members?
   You should share meeting minutes as soon as possible after the meeting using email or collaboration platforms, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. Ensure the notes are clear, concise, and understandable to all team members.
   ⁠
5. How long should meeting minutes be retained for future reference?
   You should keep meeting minutes for at least as long as the decisions and actions you discussed are still relevant. Depending on organizational needs, this can be anywhere from six months to several years.