how to write up business meeting minutes

How To Write Effective Meeting Minutes (with Templates and Samples)

New to writing meeting minutes.

Whether you’ve been tasked with taking notes for a committee or you’ve been appointed Secretary to the Board of your organization, preparing meeting minutes doesn’t have to be an arduous task. Here are some tips and ideas that will help you get started with writing and preparing effective meeting minutes, as well as a meeting minutes sample and a meeting minutes template that you can follow.

This guide on how to write meeting minutes was prepared by WildApricot to help the volunteers and/or staff of small non-profits and membership organizations who may be new to the task of taking and preparing minutes of meeting for committees or Boards of Directors.

Please note that since the format, style and content requirements for meeting minutes varies depending on the organization and the type of committee or Board, this article offers only general guidelines to help get you started.

What Are Meeting Minutes?

Meeting minutes, or mom (for minutes of meeting) can be defined as the written record of everything that’s happened during a meeting. They’re used to inform people who didn’t attend the meeting about what happened, or to keep track of what was decided during the meeting so that you can revisit it and use it to inform future decisions.

What Should You Include When Writing Meeting Minutes?

The five steps that you must include are:

• Pre-Planning
• Record taking – at the meeting
• Minutes writing or transcribing
• Distributing or sharing of meeting minutes
• Filing or storage of minutes for future reference

For more detail on each step, read on!

Read more: 13 Meeting Minutes Templates for More Productive Nonprofit Board Meetings

What Is the Purpose of Meeting Minutes?

You shouldn’t be intimidated by the term “minutes”, since it’s actually a little misleading. After all, your committee or Board doesn’t want or need a record of its meeting proceedings minute by minute!  But it is important to capture the essence of the meeting, including details such as:

• decisions made (motions made, votes, etc.)
• next steps planned
• identification and tracking of action items

Minutes are a tangible record of the meeting for its participants and a source of information for members who were unable to attend. In some cases, meeting minutes can act as a reference point, for example:

• when a meeting’s outcomes impact other collaborative activities or projects within the organization
• minutes can serve to notify (or remind) individuals of tasks assigned to them and/or timelines

Download our Meeting Minute Checklist for Associations and Nonprofits with examples and learn how to take better minutes. 

Why Are They Called Minutes of a Meeting?

According to Today I Found Out , the “minutes” of “meeting minutes” don’t refer to the minute measurement of time, but to the “minute” (my-newt) notes taken during meetings.

What’s Involved With Meeting Minutes?

As mentioned above, there are essentially five steps involved with meeting minutes:

1. Pre-Planning Meeting Minutes:

A well-planned meeting helps ensure effective meeting minutes.  If the Chair and the Secretary or minutes-taker work together to ensure the agenda and meeting are well thought out, it makes minute taking much easier. For example, depending on the meeting structure and the tools you use, the minutes-taker could work with the Chair to create a document format that works as an agenda and minutes outline as well.

What Is the Agenda of a Meeting?

Meeting agenda = outline:

At the very least, it’s important to get a copy of the meeting agenda and use it as a guide or outline for taking notes, setting up your mom format, and preparing the minutes – with the order and numbering of items on the minutes of meeting matching those of the agenda.

In addition, the agenda and/or meeting notice also provides information that will need to be included in the minutes, such as:

• the names of all the meeting attendees, including guests or speakers
• documents that are sent out with the agenda or handed out in the meeting – copies (digital or hard copy) of handouts should be stored with the meeting minutes for future reference and for sharing with those who were unable to attend the meeting (and others as determined by the meeting’s Chair).

Clarifying Expectations:

When you take on a new role as minutes-taker or Secretary, be sure to ask the Chair of the committee or Board what their expectations are of your role during the meeting, as well as the type of detail he/she expects in the minutes.  For example, if your Board or committee will be dealing with motions, or voting on items/issues, be clear on whether you need to offer names of those making motions, seconding, etc. If you will be dealing with this type of procedures, you (and your Chair) may want to refer to Robert’s Rules of Order .

2. What Should Be Included in Meeting Minutes?

Before you start taking notes, it’s important to understand the type of information you need to record at the meeting. As noted earlier, your organization may have required content and a specific mom format that you’ll need to follow, but generally, meeting minutes usually include the following:

• Date and time of the meeting
• Names of the meeting participants and those unable to attend (e.g., “regrets”)
• Acceptance or corrections/amendments to previous meeting minutes
• Actions taken or agreed to be taken
• Voting outcomes – e.g., (if necessary, details regarding who made motions; who seconded and approved or via show of hands, etc.)
• Motions taken or rejected
• Items to be held over
• New business
• Next meeting date and time

You can find more templates and details on formatting meeting minutes here.

Tips that might help your note taking:

• Create an outline – as discussed earlier, having an outline (or template) based on the agenda makes it easy for you to simply jot down notes, decisions, etc. under each item as you go along. If you are taking notes by hand, consider including space below each item on your outline for your hand-written notes, then print these out and use this to capture minutes.
• Check-off attendees as they enter the room – if you know the meeting attendees, you can check them off as they arrive, if not have folks introduce themselves at the start of the meeting or circulate an attendance list they can check-off themselves.
• Record decisions or notes on action items in your outline as soon as they occur to be sure they are recorded accurately
• Ask for clarification if necessary – for example, if the group moves on without making a decision or an obvious conclusion, ask for clarification of the decision and/or next steps involved.
• Don’t try to capture it all – you can’t keep up if you try to write down the conversation verbatim, so be sure to simply (and clearly) write (or type) just the decisions, assignments, action steps, etc.
• Record it – literally, if you are concerned about being able to keep up with note taking, consider recording the meeting (e.g., on your smart phone, iPad, recording device, etc.) but be sure to let participants know they are being recording. While you don’t want to use the recording to create a word-for-word transcript of the meeting, the recording can come in handy if you need clarification.

Download our Meeting Minute Checklist for Associations and Nonprofits with sample minutes taken at a meeting and learn how to take better minutes. 

Meeting Minutes Template:

Here’s a simple template you can refer to next time you need to take meeting minutes.

You can also find more meeting minutes templates made for Microsoft Word here.

Meeting Minutes Sample:

Still wondering if you’re taking notes correctly? Here’s a sample of what meeting minutes at a board meeting might look like.

3. The Minutes Writing Process

Once the meeting is over, it’s time to pull together your notes and write the minutes. Here are some tips that might help:

• Try to write the minutes as soon after the meeting as possible while everything is fresh in your mind.
• Review your outline and if necessary, add additional notes or clarify points raised. Also check to ensure all decisions, actions and motions are clearly noted.
• For Board of Director’s minutes in particular, we recommend including a short description of each action taken, as well as the rationale behind the decision
• If there was a lot of discussion before passing a motion, write down the major arguments for and against
• Edit to ensure brevity and clarity, so the minutes are easy to read
• Be objective
• Write in the same tense throughout
• Avoid using names other than to record motions and seconds.
• Avoid personal observations — the minutes should be solely fact-based
• If you need to refer to other documents, don’t try to summarize them. Rather, simply indicate where they can be found or attach them as an appendix

4. Do Meeting Minutes Have To Be Approved?

Before you share your meeting minutes, make sure that the Chair has reviewed and either revised and/or approved the minutes for circulation. They are not an official record of a meeting unless this has taken place. Depending on your Board, minutes may also be formally approved at the beginning of the next meeting.

5. Distributing or Sharing Meeting Minutes

As the official “minutes-taker” or Secretary, your role may include dissemination of the minutes.

Online sharing

The method of sharing or distribution will depend on the tools that you and your organization use. Since minutes and other documentation can create a pile of paper, it’s great if you can use a paperless sharing process. For example, if you are using a word processing tool (e.g., Microsoft Word) that doesn’t offer online sharing, you might want to create a PDF of the document and send this and the other attachments or meeting documentation via email. Alternately, if you are all using Google docs – for meeting invitations, agenda and additional document sharing – you can simply “share” the document with that group once it has been finalized. Committee or Board members can simply read the documents online and save a few trees!

Sharing in the Cloud?

If your organization is using a cloud-based membership management system (like WildApricot ), you can publish the minutes as a web page and give access only to the committee or Board members, depending on your organization’s needs. Through members-only webpages, you can create a secure online Intranet for your Board and committees.

Tools Specifically For Meeting Minutes:

If you are wondering about the types of tools you might use specifically for meeting minutes, here are some tools that organizations we’ve worked with have found helpful:

• Google Docs:  Also supports collaborative note taking. [Here are some meeting minute sample templates in Google docs.  If you send out a meeting request using Google Calendar, you can attach a Google doc agenda outline. Once minutes are crafted (using the outline), you can simply share the document with the group using their email addresses.]
• OneNote :  (if you are a Microsoft user) – Very fast and allows for organization of notes.  Also support audio recording with corresponding note time-stamping.
• Lucid Meetings: Fantastic meeting-tool to automate your meeting processes like notes, attendance, and organization.
• Evernote :  Great note taking tool.
• Agreedo : supports creation of meeting minutes and tracking the results.
• minutes.io :  allows you to quickly take meeting minutes with hotkey shortcuts and the ability to work online or offline.

6. Filing/Storage of Meeting Minutes

Most committees and Boards review and either approve or amend the minutes at the beginning of the subsequent meeting. Once you’ve made any required revisions, the minutes will then need to be stored for future reference. Some organizations may store these online (e.g., in Google docs or SkyDrive) and also back these up on an external hard drive.  You may also need to print and store hard copies as well or provide these to a staff member or Chair for filing.

And… If You’re a Nonprofit with Regular Board and Member Meetings

If you’re a nonprofit with regular board and member meetings and you want to save time and money managing your organization, get a free trial of WildApricot , an all-in-one membership management software which allows you to:

• Easily schedule online events with instant online payment processing and automated invoices.
• Create a stunning website with online member applications.
• Access an easy-to-search and filter contact database.
• Send out professionally-designed newsletters and emails.
• and much more.

Find out all the features of WildApricot’s free membership management software here .

WildApricot is also the the #1 rated membership management software used by over 20,000 organizations every day. Get your free trial now .

Additional Resources

• Watch this free Expert Webinar by Dr. Richard Lent on Leading Great Board Meetings: How to Structure Yours for Success
• Seven Secrets for Successful Board Meetings
• 8 Best Practices for Creating Meeting Minutes
• The Dos and Don’ts of Meeting Minute Templates
• The Top 11 Online Payment Service Providers in 2021

In Closing…Enjoy Your New Role!

Meeting minutes are important – after all, they capture the essential information of a meeting. But taking and preparing minutes doesn’t have to be a daunting task. We hope this article helps meeting minutes newbies in getting started in creating effective meeting minutes for your organization.

Thank you for reading our guide on how to write meeting minutes!

Related Organizational Management Articles

How to Start a PTO: 19 Steps to Set Your School up for Success! 

How to Build a Healthcare Association Board: 8 Qualities of Top Directors!

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How To Write Effective Meeting Minutes (With Examples)

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Meeting minutes are a record of what happened in a meeting. They aren’t a transcription — they don’t cover everything that was said or done —but they highlight the key points so that everyone can remember what was discussed. Meeting minutes are also important to update people who weren’t able to attend the meeting.

Usually, an individual is assigned the responsibility of writing up the minutes of a meeting. If you’ve been assigned that task, or just wondering what meeting minutes are, then keep reading. This article will discuss why meeting minutes are important, how to write them, and even give an example.

Key Takeaways

Good meeting minutes help companies run more effectively by establishing a record of what transpired in a meeting.

Prepare to take meeting minutes by making sure you understand the purpose of the meeting, collecting the participants’ names, and creating a template to fill in as you take notes.

After the meeting, type up your notes, submit them to your supervisors for approval, and then send them to the meeting participants.

What are meeting minutes?

Why are meeting minutes important, how to write meeting minutes, what to include in meeting minutes, tips for writing meeting minutes, meeting minutes example, meeting minutes template, final thoughts, metting minutes faq.

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Meeting minutes are documents that cover what happened during a meeting. Minutes focus on the key events of a meeting, paring it down to the major discussion points and decisions, along with the next steps that employees are supposed to take.

In a sense, meeting minutes are the summary of the meeting. Documenting what happened in the meeting makes it possible for those not in attendance to know what happened, and to keep records of decisions, and they can be used as a reference for those who have specific tasks they have to undertake after the meeting.

Meeting minutes are important because they help businesses operate more effectively. Meetings are regarded as the time for communication in a company to take place. If the information that’s handled during meetings becomes skewed, it’s a huge waste of time and effort.

Writing meeting minutes increases effectiveness by establishing an accurate record of what transpired. It removes the room for error that comes with not keeping documentation. Monitoring meetings with a structured approach to the discussions, and actions that follow, leads toward success.

The process of writing meeting minutes isn’t complicated, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to put effort into it. Being detail-oriented will make it a lot easier, as well as taking careful notes during the meeting. As with most things, preparation and attentiveness are key.

Here are some steps to take to write effective meeting minutes:

Prepare beforehand. The best way to take flawless meeting minutes is by being prepared accordingly before ever walking into the meeting. Many professionals choose to arrange a template that guides them toward the information they need to collect during the meeting.

Understanding what data you need to collect beforehand makes it much easier to distinguish when the meeting is actually happening. To help with preparations, ask your supervisors what the general objective of the meeting will be and gather knowledge about the event.<.p>

Strong preparation work makes taking meeting minutes notes during the actual meeting more of just filling in the blanks. At the very least, have a firm understanding of the meeting’s purpose.

Take detailed notes during the meeting. Once you’re at the meeting, the main focus is paying attention and taking clear notes. It likely means that you won’t contribute much to the meeting itself, but your task is to record it rather than to participate.

Here are some suggestions for making organizing your notes easier:

Pass around an attendance sheet. That way you don’t have to take an awkward attendance. This is doubly important if this is a larger group and you’re not sure of everyone’s name. If it’s a small group and you know everyone, you can omit this step.

Write down brief notes as topics shift. Make sure you keep up with your note-taking. Major topic shifts should be noted down, especially if they’re moving on from one phase of the meeting to another.

Put down the initials of the people who bring up major changes or topics. While it isn’t imperative to track who said what, it’s good to have an idea of whether or not the person bringing up the topic is a manager or an expert on the topic.

Make a note of who is assigned certain tasks. There should ideally be some tasks assigned at the end of the meeting. Keep track of what they are and who they’re assigned to. This is something that people will want to know and reference in the future.

Be objective. Keep your opinions out of it, as meeting minutes are supposed to be objective. Also, everyone will be able to find out who wrote the minutes of the meeting, so be sure to keep any commentary to yourself.

Try recording it. If you find yourself struggling to keep up with note-taking, try recording the meeting. Every smartphone has a record feature. Just make sure to get permission to do so first, as some states have laws against recording someone without their knowledge or permission.

Retrieve copies of all reports used at the meeting. Documents, reports, and presentations are often given during a meeting to provide more clarification for its participants. Before leaving a meeting, ask a coordinator to forward these materials to you to bring this clarity to your meeting minutes.

Type up the notes neatly after the meeting. After the meeting has concluded, you should have a halfway-put-together handwritten series of notes.

With the information that was discussed freshly in mind, bring your notes, and type them up in a more organized fashion. Having a digital copy of your meeting minutes allows for easier edits. It also gives you the ability to share it with your supervisors and co-workers with the click of a button.

Review and send to supervisors for approval. With a proofread final copy of the meeting minutes in hand, send it off to your supervisor for approval.

Do thorough editing before emailing your meeting minutes to your manager . Once they’ve provided you with their seal of approval, the meeting minutes are finalized to be sent out to colleagues.

Include both attendees of the meeting and co-workers who may have been absent and need to catch up on the details.

The point of writing meeting minutes is to have a record of all the important things that happened. They should be detailed enough that a co-worker who wasn’t in attendance would still understand them fully.

The following are information that needs to be included when writing effective meeting minutes:

The purpose of the meeting

The full names of everyone in attendance

The date and time the meeting happened

Details about projects, who they were assigned to, and when they are due by

Final calls that were made on decisions during the meeting

Any updates to the prior meeting

Details about when the next meeting will take place when it’s relevant

While there are standards for writing up the minutes of a meeting, there are a few things you can do to make it easier and the end result more effective. If you’ve been assigned to write up the meeting minutes, here are a few more things to keep in mind.

Handle meeting minutes promptly. Getting meeting minutes done quickly after the meeting’s conclusion is important for a few reasons. Firstly, the decisions that have been made just happened, so it’s unlikely that you’ve forgotten any details.

Secondly, the information needs to be sent out to other employees promptly, especially if they’ve missed the meeting and require the details they missed.

Do not include random conversation. Although meetings are supposed to be targeted towards a particular focus, it’s natural for side conversations to take place occasionally.

However, these don’t need to be included in meeting minutes. It distracts from more important information and brings in a conversation unrelated to the meeting’s purpose.

If a conversation isn’t directly relevant to the topic of the meeting or decisions being made, leave it out of the meeting minutes.

Include who was given tasks. Oftentimes, the purpose of meetings is to go over a new project or plan of action that the team is going to embark on. When this is the meeting objective, supervisors will spend a chunk of time delegating tasks to specific employees.

It’s important to include who was designated with each task or responsibility during the meeting because it avoids encountering discrepancies later.

Look at meeting minutes templates. One avenue for making sure your meeting minutes are formatted correctly is to look at templates online. General meeting minutes templates give a good idea about how yours should look when you’re finished and ready to send it to a supervisor for approval.

Use templates for preparation when creating your own outline to bring into a meeting.

Steer clear of recording opinions. When taking down meeting minutes notes, stick to strictly the facts. While opinions may be thrown around during a meeting, that’s not the crucial information that needs to be covered in your notes.

Opinions may lead up to an ultimate decision, but only that final call should be included in meeting minutes.

Focus on listening in addition to taking notes. Even though taking meeting minutes means scribbling down notes at every chance, it’s still recommended to keep your ears open and listening too.

It’s a natural reaction to try to write every little thing that happens in a meeting when you’re the one in charge of the minutes. But that trying to do so is impossible, and will likely be detrimental rather than helpful. You also don’t want to distract the others in the meeting by constantly scribbling or typing.

Meeting Minutes Example

Johnson Bath Products Company Launching of The New Soap Campaign (1/14/2021) January 14, 2021 / 1:30 PM / Room 32 North Building of Johnson HQ INDIVIDUALS WHO ATTENDED Jamie Close, James Clark, Aaron Smith, Angela Snow, Kimberely Rhiley, Mark Taft AGENDA Last Meeting Follow-up The last meeting focused on advertising and marketing strategy regarding the new line of astrology soaps. It was decided that this campaign would target social media and employ influencers to gain the following in public. Current Meeting Objective Determine the most impactful launch date Decide which social media influencers will be used to market this product line Assign final touch-up jobs before the launch date NOTES In a market research study conducted, it was found that the target demographic for the astrology soap line is females ages between 16-35 The decided launch date of the marketing campaign is February 1st, 2021 FUTURE ACTIONS Angela Snow was assigned the task of creating a list of potential social media influencers to reach out to for a marketing deal (Due: 1/21/21) James Clark was assigned the job of a copywriter for company Instagram posts launching the new astrology line (Due: 1/21/21) Kimberely Rhiley was assigned the role of sourcing photography editors for social media postings (Due: 1/21/21) DETAILS ABOUT THE NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held on January 22nd, 2021. Its objective will be to follow up on the week’s work with the campaign.

If your employer doesn’t have a meeting minutes template, here’s one that you can use. We’ve also included an example of meeting minutes so you can see this template in action.

Meeting Minutes Template

The Title of Your Company The Purpose of the Meeting (Date) Meeting Date / Meeting Time / Meeting Place PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE AT THE MEETING Full name, Full name, Full name AGENDA Last Meeting Follow-up Details about what was covered in the last meeting and how it relates to the current one Current Meeting Objective Important points that have been discussed Decisions that have been made Tasks that have been delegated NOTES Additional useful information Any reports or presentations included in the meeting FUTURE ACTIONS When the meeting is concerning a project, use this space to write out who has been given each specific task Include names, responsibilities, and the due date DETAILS ABOUT THE NEXT MEETING If the next company meeting is on the books, use this space to give details about when and where it will be held.

Information that’s been discussed at a company meeting can easily get lost in translation if it’s not recorded properly. To avoid misunderstandings, many businesses employ meeting minutes to organize information .

Meeting minutes ensure that important details throughout a business meeting are kept track of for later use. These written documents are saved for reference in the future or to convey information to employees who weren’t present at the meeting.

Who’s responsible for taking and archiving meeting minutes?

Usually, one person is assigned the task of taking and archiving the minutes of a meeting. There isn’t necessarily a particular role this is assigned to, but it’s more often given to someone who has an administrative or secretarial role.

What’s the best way to store or archive meeting minutes?

Meeting minutes can be stored either electronically or physically in a file. There are pros and cons to both. Most minutes are likely to be stored electronically nowadays, but physical files are more secure. They are, however, harder to access.

Why are they called meeting minutes?

The reason that meeting minutes are called minutes rather than notes or a summary isn’t known for sure. However, the prevailing theory is that it doesn’t have anything to do with minutes, as in the measure of time, but instead comes from the Latin minuta scripta, meaning small writing.

This comes from the fact that scribes in monestaries would write in a small script in order to save ink and parchment, and minuta turned into minute. It’s actually related to minute, as in small, rather than minute, the measure of time.

Forbes — Why Meeting Minutes – Done Right – Are the Key to Remote Productivity

Corporate Finance Institute — Meeting Minutes

MasterClass — What Are Meeting Minutes? How to Take Minutes for a Meeting

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Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.

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✍ How to Write Meeting Minutes [+5 Free Templates]

Comprehensive guide to taking meeting minutes. 5 free Word and Google Doc templates. Tips, tricks, and answers to all of your MoM questions.

An inside look at the meeting ground rules used internally by Fellow.app, the top-rated meeting productivity software company.

Meeting minutes are the official summary of what happened during a meeting.

They serve as an outline, a written record for anyone unable to attend, and to use for future reference. Minutes document what happened and what decisions were made.

When written well, and when using a good meeting minutes template, minutes are a critical communication tool for your organization.

Meeting minutes are a clean, concise way of taking notes, one that helps keep track of essential information.

In this guide, learn and access everything you need to write effective formal and informal meeting minutes. We have a range of templates, best practices, and answers to common questions.

Watch this guide as a video below, or scroll on to keep reading:

What is Covered (Contents):

• Examples of meeting minutes - Examples of minutes taken at a meeting
• Tips and Best Practices - Tips on how to write meeting minutes
• Meeting Minutes Templates - Free templates for Word, Google Docs, and Fellow
• FAQs - Frequently asked questions about note-taking

What are meeting minutes?

Meeting minutes are notes that are taken during a meeting to record what happens in the meeting. These notes typically highlight the key issues that are discussed in the meeting. Meeting minutes should indicate the time, date, and setting of the meeting. These notes should also document who was in attendance at the meeting. If there are any presentations or reports presented, these should be reflected in the meeting minutes.

Meeting minutes can be a valuable resource for team members who missed a meeting. Taking clear, detailed meeting minutes can help anyone who wasn’t in attendance get caught up on any decisions or takeaways from the meeting.

What is the purpose of meeting minutes?

The key purpose of meeting minutes is to create an official record of what happened in a meeting, what was discussed, and any decisions that were made. Minutes typically don’t record everything that’s said in a meeting, but usually cover the key topics that were covered in the meeting. In some more formal business settings, meeting minutes may be required to share with stockholders or regulating agencies.

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Why are meeting minutes important?

• They Offer Structure: Once you’ve settled on a method for putting meeting minutes together, they can offer structured information about what happened in past meetings, and what needs to be discussed in the future.
• They Keep You Organized: Taking detailed meeting minutes allows your to clearly record any decisions that were made in the meeting, and any action items that require input from your team members.
• They Promote Transparency: If you have detailed records of your meetings, you can share what happened with others in your organization to promote a culture of transparency within your organization.

What should be included in meeting minutes?

Here is some necessary information found in most meeting minutes.

• The title of the group that is meeting, or the meeting itself
• The date and time, as well as the venue or meeting room, if appropriate
• Who is in attendance and who is recording the minutes
• The meeting’s agenda
• What decisions were made and by whom
• Motions and vote counts (if applicable)

If you're not using a meeting management tool like Fellow that automatically tracks meeting titles, attendees, dates, and times, then space for all of this information should be in your meeting minutes template.

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<span class="h-circle">1</span> Examples of minutes taken at a meeting

To illustrate what meeting minutes are, below are two sample documents created from meeting minutes templates.

These documents are effectively meeting notes with only the essential information written down. As you'll see below, preparing effective meeting minutes doesn't have to be an arduous task. It's more about recording the *right* information than all of the information.

If your meeting is run according to Robert's Rules of Order , make sure to use a meeting minutes template that follow's those rules .

NOTE: There are 5 free meeting minutes templates at the end of this article for you to download as professional-looking Word documents, copy as Google Docs, or simply copy and paste from. These templates are also available from the free template library in your cloud-based Fellow account.

📝 Formal Meeting Minutes Sample

Minutes of a meeting of the board of directors.

September 5, 2021

A meeting of the Board of Directors (the “ Board ”) of ACME Corp., a California C-Corporation (the “Company”), was held on September 5, 2022, at the offices of the Company.

Attendance - Voting Members: Larry Emerson, Marc Branson - Guests: Amy Holmes, Tom Avery - Voting Members Absent: None ‍

Approval of minutes A motion to approve the previous meeting minutes from August 5th was made by Larry Emerson and seconded by Marc Branson. ‍

Call to Order ‍Larry Emerson called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. and Tom Avery recorded the minutes. A quorum of directors was present, and the meeting, having been duly convened, was ready to proceed with the business. ‍

CEO Report ‍Larry Emerson reviewed the agenda and welcomed everyone to the meeting. Next, Larry Emerson discussed the current status of the company and its progress. A number of questions were asked and extensive discussion ensued.

Sales & Business Development Update Report ‍Marc Branson next provided an update on the overall sales progress and sales pipeline of the Company. He also presented the status of business development discussions.

Financial Review Report ‍Marc Branson provided a comprehensive update on the Company's financial plan and forecast. Marc Branson also reviewed the Company's principal financial operating metrics.

Motion #1: Approval of Option Grants ‍Amy Holmes presented to the Board a list of proposed options to be granted to Company employees for approval, whereupon motion duly made, seconded and unanimously adopted, the option grants were approved as presented in Exhibit A.

Announcements ‍None

Adjournment ‍There being no further business to come before the meeting, the meeting was adjourned at 2:45 p.m.

📝 Informal / Simple Meeting Minutes Sample

Minutes: project check-in meeting, our objective.

To build a measurement strategy that allows the customer success team to track progress on KPIs and measure that progress against their stated departmental goals.

Deadlines/Milestones

Strategy must be ready to deploy by Q4 2023.

Project Update Roundtable

• Spoke with and established agreement among CS team stakeholders on relevant KPIs.
• Gathered feedback from CS team on current measurement strategies.
• Mocked up three dashboard options that are circulating internally for feedback.
• Working through an audit of the current CS data sources.
• Just getting back after a four-day illness; catching up.

Roadblocks & Risks

• Roadblock: Christina needs feedback on the dashboards before she can continue. All team members must provide feedback ASAP.
• Risk: Christina’s audit may reveal siloed data which may delay our ability to establish a performance baseline.
• @Michelle review and provide feedback on Christina’s dashboard mockups by June 5th.
• @Rob summarize and distribute CS team feedback on current measurement strategies by June 7th.
• @Christina check in on the status of current CS data sources by June 8th.

<div id="2"></div>

<span class="h-circle">2</span> How to Write Meeting Minutes

✅ take minutes in real time, or make notes after each topic..

Start with the meeting agenda as an outline. Fill in agenda items with more detail while the information is still fresh in your mind—in real-time.

✅ Be concise. 

Your creative writing skills must take a back seat (for now).

Write the minutes as if you are a journalist. As the minutes taker, your job is to document what is happening at the meeting.

This is a written record, but just the broad strokes. You don’t need a verbatim accounting of everything that is said.

✅ Fill in your meeting minutes documents so that they can be understood by someone who was unable to attend.

As you might imagine, there’s a balancing act when writing minutes. You must keep minutes concise but also provide enough context for future reference.

Remember, it's often customary to review meeting notes at the beginning of the next meeting. For example, a board meeting typically starts with the approval of the previous meeting's minutes.

The amount of context you include as a meeting note-taker is a judgment call.

✅ Just note the facts.

Avoid personal observations when writing meeting minutes. If you want to take separate notes of your own, you are welcome to do so. But the meeting minutes should be a factual record of what was discussed.

Some of this is boring information to keep track of: meeting names, date and time, action items and decisions made. But later on, those meeting notes may contain essential information to keep everyone on the same page about what happened during that meeting.

✅ Note who is unable to attend.

With meeting minutes, it's important to write down who attended the meeting, but also who didn't, so there is no confusion about who may have discussed or voted on an issue.

✅ Use a meeting minutes template for the right format. 

If you’re writing formal meeting minutes, follow a certain format. For trade unions, schools, city and county governments, and others, you may need to follow Robert’s Rules of Order.

But with informal meeting minutes, you have more flexibility. Think of what your organization needs, and what's been done in the past. Then improve on that process.

DON'TS: What not to include

A challenging aspect of taking meeting minutes is restraint—choosing not just what to put in the minutes but what to leave out.

🚫 Don’t try to record everything verbatim.

Minutes aren’t a transcription; they’re a summary. (See the best meeting transcription software if you need a word-for-word transcription.)

🚫 Don’t include personal thoughts or observations.

‍ If you have thoughts and ideas during the meeting, record them separately from the official minutes.

🚫 Don’t repeat information that is already there.

‍ Especially if the agenda clearly states a discussion topic (e.g., “2023 Budget Discussion) you do not need to write a redundant note in the minutes, such as “Budget was discussed for 2023.”

🚫 Don’t handwrite your notes.

‍ Because minutes are a record of what happened in the meeting, it’s to use a digital format since. Ultimately these meeting notes must be saved and shared.

Advanced Tips: Tricks to take notes faster

A lot can happen during a conversation and it can be hard for the note-taker to keep up. Go from being a basic meeting minutes taker to a pro with these expert tips to help you save time while writing and keep up with the conversation.

💡 Use initials instead of people’s full names.

If there’s one note-taking tip that will save you loads of time, it’s to abbreviate the names of meeting participants. Use this next to tasks assigned, for example.

💡 Use acronyms where you can without sacrificing clarity.

As with names, acronyms can be a big help. For instance, we have a series of content we call “Behind the Team.” Whenever we discuss it, instead of writing out all the words, we simply write BTT.

💡 Use sentence fragments as long as it still makes sense.

‍ No need for perfect grammar. Instead of full sentences, write notes in your minutes like, “Decision to move forward,” or “Revisit strategy in 6 weeks.”

<div id="3"></div>

<span class="h-circle">3</span> ‍ Free Meeting Minutes Templates

For the visual learner, we’ve created samples of both types of meeting minutes. If you’d like to get straight to our templates, scroll a little further.

Use these to guide your writing. But remember: Your meetings may require different information. Don’t get so enamoured with copying the samples that you forget to write your meeting minutes in a way that's useful for you and your team.

In the bottom left corner of any template, click the "Use this template" button to choose from three formats:

• Word doc template
• Google doc (Save a copy)
• Ue the meeting minutes template in Fellow ( Free account )

Formal meeting minutes template

As mentioned, formal meeting minutes are generally written based on Robert’s Rules of Order. The template below is structured based on these rules, which are often adopted for board meetings and committee meetings.

If you’re starting from scratch, this is a perfect starting point.

Still, adjust it. If your organization has used meeting minutes before, ask someone to see a copy of what’s been done in the past. Look at the previous meeting's minutes and make improvements as you see fit.

{{formal-meeting-minutes="/blog-inserts-3"}}

Informal meeting minutes template 

The following template is super basic. It sets the goal, meeting agenda, and records next steps for any type of meeting. And it doubles as a meeting summary template.

Feel free to make it your own by adding elements of the formal template or your own ideas. 

{{informal-meeting-minutes="/blog-inserts-3"}}

Simple meeting minutes template

And here's the template based on the informal meeting minutes sample at the top of this article:

{{simple-meeting-minutes="/blog-inserts-6"}}

Staff meeting minutes template

Do you have an all-hands staff meeting coming up? Here's a free template for you to download or copy.

{{all-hands-meeting="/blog-inserts"}}

Team meeting minutes template

This example agenda is based on a template that we use at Hugo for a lot of our team meetings.

{{team-meeting="/blog-inserts-6"}}

<div id="4"></div>

<span class="h-circle">4</span> Meeting Minutes FAQs

How do you write action items.

When adding tasks and action items to your meeting notes, here are five steps to follow.

⚡ Start your action item with a verb.

‍ A common time-saving mistake is to be too brief in noting a task, forgetting to include the “action” part of the action item.

• 😒 Bad: 2022 data
• 😀 Good: Pull the 2022 data to share with the team

⚡ Assign each action item to someone who is responsible.

A meeting participant must take ownership of every single task, otherwise that task may not be completed.

⚡ Don’t include more information then is necessary.

It is up to the person who is responsible to keep track of details. These details don’t need to clutter up your meeting notes.

⚡ Note a due date if there is one.

‍ Even if there is no clear date, often an arbitrary one, such as one week, is helpful for creating urgency to do the task.

⚡ Follow up on action items at the next meeting.

If status updates on action items haven’t been given in the meantime, quickly review the previous meeting’s minutes to ensure action items were accomplished.

Who prepares the minutes of a meeting?

The minutes-taker may be a variety of people:

• A participant in the meeting
• An attendee who won’t be contributing but is privy to the information
• A professional note-taker

In formal situations, the note-taker is often the secretary, an executive assistant, or an admin.

In less-formal meetings, the person taking the minutes may simply be a volunteer. This person who prepares the minutes of a meeting is sometimes called a “scribe.”

What is the proper order of an agenda?

If you’re following Robert’s Rules of Order , prioritize your agenda in this order:

• Minutes from the previous meeting 
• Time-sensitive situations
• Unfinished business 
• General items
• New business

If you’re not following strict parliamentary procedures in your meetings, much of this advice is still useful. Begin by carrying over any threads from the previous meeting, as well as large discussions or time-sensitive business. Leave more minor agenda items for the end.

How do you create a perfect meeting agenda?

The perfect agenda is brief but descriptive. It provides all the necessary background without being so long and unwieldy that no one wants to read it.

For an effective meeting agenda, follow these steps:

• Prepare your agenda before the meeting; at least 24 hours in advance.
• Clearly define the goal of the meeting so everyone knows why they are there.
• Prioritize agenda items based on importance.
• List discussion topics as questions that need to be answered.
• Allow reasonable amounts of time for each topic.
• Include necessary background info for decisions to be made.
• Share the agenda with attendees so they can have input and show up prepared.

See here for more tips on creating effective meeting agendas .

What is the best template format for meeting minutes?

Should you use a Word Doc, Google Doc, Excel, PDF, email, or something else for your meeting minutes templates?

When considering what type of file or document to use for your meeting, the most important factor to consider is how you will save and share your minutes.

Standard files like Word Docs, Excel spreadsheets, and PDFs all have a similar limitation as templates for meeting minutes—they need an extra step to be used or shared. Opening any of these file types requires a special program that not everyone may have access to. 

Additionally, regular files like Word Docs and PDFs need to be saved carefully in the cloud, with attention to not having multiple versions of the same file in dispute.

Often meeting minutes are also emailed, but email should not be the only place the meeting minutes live. The minutes should also be saved somewhere centralized so they can be found later if need be.

The best solution is often a cloud-based type of document, such as a Google Doc . Even better is a doc in a free meeting management system like Fellow, where notes are easily shared (or kept private), and automatically organized.

What tense should meeting minutes be written in?

Past tense.

Meeting minutes are a recounting of what happened at the meeting. They should read like a description of the past, not like an announcer calling a sports game as it’s playing out.

• Incorrect: The board approves the 2023 budget.
• Correct: The board approved the 2023 budget.

What are the abbreviations for minutes of meeting?

MoM stands for Minutes of Meeting.

MM stands for Meeting Minutes.

Note: Using these acronyms may be confusing to people who are unfamiliar with them.

How do you pronounce meeting minutes?

Even though the word “minutes” originates from the notion of something being small or my-newt , meeting minutes is pronounced like the word for a minute of time.

To say, “Please take minutes for this meeting,” you would pronounce the word the same as when saying, “There are sixty minutes in an hour.”

Do meeting minutes need to be approved or signed?

Certain formal meeting minutes do need to be certified in some way in order to be an official record of a meeting. Often the Chair needs to review and approve the minutes before they can be circulated. Or, for many organizations, minutes are reviewed and approved by the group at the beginning of the next meeting.

However, apart from these situations, whether your minutes are approved or not is up to the leaders at the organization and how they want to run their process. 

Informal and Formal Minutes 

What's the difference?

Formal minutes

Certain organizations such as nonprofits, public companies, local governments, and schools are required by law to create formal meeting minutes.

For example, in California, many state and local government bodies must make meeting minutes available to the public. Similarly, public companies are required to create meeting minutes for Board of Directors and Shareholder meetings.

Since these types of meeting minutes are required for compliance or legal reasons, they should follow a clear and professional format.

Informal minutes

Often meeting minutes are flexible and somewhat informal. They still need to be clear, professional, and consistent. But, you’re not going to get sued if you don’t include all the right information.

Think of informal meeting minutes as a meeting summary. The templates and forms you use are ultimately up to you. Just because they’re less formal doesn’t mean informal minutes are less useful.

More free minutes templates  🙌

Remember, the minutes of your meetings are there to help your organization be more collaborative, transparent, and efficient. Keep that in mind and whatever form or template you choose will work just fine.

The only additional meeting-related document you’ll need to worry about now is the agenda. Good thing we’ve got more than 80 meeting minutes templates for you to choose from. Get them in Word Doc or Google Doc (or add them to your free Fellow account )👇

So grab the templates you need and get ready to make your meetings matter even more.☝️ If you’ve ever wanted a tool to extract the most useful, relevant bits of information from a meeting, minutes could be your new best friend.

{{start-having-better-meetings="/blog-inserts"}}

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Meeting Minutes: Best Writing Guide, Examples (+ Free Template) in 2023

Jane Ng • 16 Feb 2023 • 6 min read

Meetings play a crucial role in businesses and organizations, serving as a platform for discussing and addressing issues and managing internal affairs to drive progress. To capture the essence of these gatherings, whether virtual or in-person, Meeting Minutes are crucial in taking notes, summarizing key topics discussed and keeping track of decisions and resolutions reached.

This article will guide you in writing effective meeting minutes, with examples and templates to use, as well as best practices to follow.

What Are Meeting Minutes?

Who is the minute-taker, how to write meeting minutes, meeting minutes examples (+ templates), key takeaways.

Hopefully, this article will help you no longer feel the challenge of writing meeting minutes. And don’t forget to be creative and interactive in each of your meetings with:

• AhaSlides Public Template
• Project Kickoff Meeting
• Strategic Management Meeting
• Meetings In Business | Common 10 Common Types and Best Practices
• Meeting Agenda | 8 Key Steps, Examples & Free Templates
• Meeting Invitation Email | Best tips, examples, and templates (100% free)

Meeting minutes are a written record of the discussions, decisions, and action items that occur during a meeting. 

• They serve as a reference and source of information for all attendees and those unable to attend.
• They help ensure that important information is not forgotten and that everyone is on the same page about what was discussed and what actions to take.
• They also provide accountability and transparency by documenting decisions and commitments made during the meeting.

The Minute-Taker is responsible for accurately recording discussions and decisions made during the meeting.

They can be an administrative officer, a secretary, an assistant or manager, or a volunteer team member performing the task. It is essential that the minute-taker has good organization and note-taking, and can summarize discussions effectively.

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For effective meeting minutes, it is first that they are objective, be a factual record of the meeting , and avoid personal opinions or subjective interpretations of discussions. Next, it should be short, clear, and easy to understand, only focus on the main points, and avoid adding unnecessary details. Finally, it must be accurate and ensure that all recorded information is fresh and relevant.

Let’s go into the details of writing meeting minutes with the following steps!

8 essential components of meeting minutes: 

• Date, time, and location of the meeting
• List of attendees and any apologies for absence
• Agenda and purpose of the meeting
• Summary of the discussions and decisions made
• Any votes taken and their outcomes
• Action items, including the responsible party and deadline for completion
• Any next steps or follow-up items
• Closing remarks or adjournment of the meeting

Steps for writing effective meeting minutes

1/ preparation.

Before the meeting, familiarize yourself with the meeting agenda and any relevant background materials. Make sure you have all the necessary tools, such as a laptop, notepad, and pen. It is also a good idea to review previous meeting minutes to get a sense of what information to include and how to format one.

2/ Note-taking

During the meeting, take clear and concise notes on the discussions and decisions made. You should focus on capturing key points, decisions, and action items, rather than transcribing the entire meeting verbatim. Make sure to include the names of speakers or any key quotes, and any action items or decisions. And avoid writing in abbreviations or shorthand that make others not understand.

3/ Organize the minutes

Review and organize your notes to create a coherent and concise summary of your minutes after the meeting. You can use headings and bullet points to make the minutes easy to read. Do not take personal opinions or subjective interpretations of the discussion. Focus on the facts and what was agreed upon during the meeting.

4/ Recording the details

Your meeting minutes should include all relevant details, such as the date, time, location, and attendees. And mention any important topics discussed, decisions, and action items assigned. Be sure to record any votes that were taken and the outcome of any discussions.

5/ Action items

Make sure to list any action items that were assigned, including who is responsible and the deadline for completion. This is a crucial part of the meeting minutes, as it ensures that everyone knows their responsibilities and the timeline for completing them.

6/ Review and distribution

You should review the minutes for accuracy and completeness, and make any necessary revisions. Make sure that all key points and decisions are noted. Then, you can distribute the minutes to all attendees, either in person or via email. Store a copy of the minutes in a centralized location for easy access, such as a shared drive or a cloud-based storage platform.

7/ Follow-up

Ensure that the action items from the meeting are followed up on and completed promptly. Use the minutes to track progress and make sure that decisions are implemented. It helps you to maintain accountability and ensures that the meeting is productive and effective.

1/ Meeting Minutes Example: Simple Meeting Template

The level of detail and complexity of simple meeting minutes will depend on the purpose of the meeting and the needs of your organization. 

In general, simple meeting minutes are used for internal purposes and do not need to be as formal or comprehensive as other types of meeting minutes. 

So, if you are in urgent need and the meeting revolves around simple, not-too-important content, you can use the following template:

2/ Meeting Minutes Example: Board Meeting Template

The board meeting minutes are recorded and distributed to all members, providing a record of the decisions made and the direction of the organization. Therefore, it should be clear, complete, detailed, and formal. Here is a board meeting minutes template:

This is just a basic board meeting template, and you may want to add or remove elements depending on the needs of your meeting and organization.

3/ Meeting Minutes Example: Project Management Template 

Here is a meeting minutes example for a project management template:

The purpose of meeting minutes is to provide a high-level overview of the meeting for those who were not able to attend, as well as to keep a record of the outcomes of the meeting. Therefore, the minutes should be organized and easy to understand, highlighting the most important information clearly and concisely.

A writer who wants to create practical and valuable content for the audience

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7 meeting minutes templates for more productive meetings

In college, I wrote for the school newspaper, and my beat was reporting on the Student Government Association (SGA). I often used the minutes from SGA meetings to help me write my article, but I quickly realized that's about all they were being used for—SGA members never read them and usually forgot what they'd discussed in their meetings the next day. And I can't blame them—minutes were kept in a scattered Word Doc and could put a civics professor to sleep.

While minutes are meant to contain the most important records of meetings (that frankly no one would remember otherwise), they can easily become unuseful or outright painful to revisit unless you have a solid framework to work from. That's where a meeting minutes template comes in handy—to ensure you track the most actionable and helpful notes that boards and other teams need to get their work done. 

Check out these seven meeting minutes templates and examples for different types of meetings.

Table of contents:

What do meeting minutes include?

Why use meeting minutes, 7 meeting minutes templates and examples, meeting minutes tips, automate meeting minutes, what are meeting minutes.

Meeting minutes document the topics discussed and decisions made in a meeting. They're a bit more formal than personal meeting notes you jot down in a notebook. In theory, you'd review the previous meeting's minutes before the next meeting to refresh your memory on key points, and you'd keep organized records of all past meeting minutes for future reference. 

But let's pump the breaks for a second. You shouldn't document the meeting literally minute by minute. Meeting minutes are intended to paint the big picture with three goals in mind:

Outline high-level themes

Document decisions

Track progress on projects and goals

Meeting minutes may vary based on the type of meeting they record, but they generally include these key components:

Location (online/in person)

Attendees and absentees

Action points

Let's say you're in a project planning meeting to discuss developing a new page layout on your website. The meeting minutes should document why the website is being updated, what the team hopes to accomplish by updating the website, who's responsible for each part of the website update, and when the update should be completed.

Later, if Dave from development (who conveniently missed the meeting) has a question about his action items, he can refer back to the meeting minutes.

Here are some situations where meeting minutes have quite literally saved the outcome of projects I've worked on: 

When there's a disagreement about decisions made in a meeting 

When someone is absent from a meeting and needs to catch up on what was discussed

When team members need to be held accountable for their commitments 

When a meeting is being audited or reviewed

When a meeting is used to train new employees

But you don't need to start from scratch every time—meeting minutes templates save time while ensuring you're getting all the benefits out of them.

Here are seven meeting minutes template examples for nearly every (high-level) meeting format you can think of. Download and customize them to fit your needs.

1. Standard meeting minutes template

Best for: staff meetings, team updates

This template covers the nuts and bolts for most meetings. It works well for recurring team meetings or if you just need a basic structure with an agenda, decisions, and action items to get you going. Key components in this template include: 

Meeting title

Action items

Next meeting date and time

Wondering where each item in this laundry list of components should go? Take a peek at the meeting minutes example below for inspiration.

2. Detailed meeting minutes template

Best for: project-related meetings, small-to-medium-sized team meetings

A more detailed meeting minutes template can help keep projects on track and hold members of a small team accountable for commitments. In addition to the basic meeting components, a detailed meeting minutes template should also include:

Progress tracking

Project goals and milestones

3. Formal meeting minutes template

Best for: executive meetings, board meetings

Have you ever been in a meeting and thought, "Am I underdressed?" That's the kind of meeting this template is for. These meetings have a more structured order of events, like recapping old and new business or voting on new initiatives. A formal meeting minutes template should include space for:

Old business—follow-ups on previous action items

New business—agenda items or new action items

Discussions

Voting records

4. Informal meeting minutes template

Best for: team huddles, brainstorms

Need to collaborate or strategize in a more casual, creative environment but don't want to forget all the brilliant ideas you spitball? This type of meeting doesn't necessarily have to be informal, but it can lead to creativity and innovation by allowing teammates to work through half-baked ideas.

A more informal meeting minutes template is perfect for this use case. It's less structured—because how are you going to put your out-of-the-box ideas into a box?—but it still keeps your notes organized with spaces for:

Icebreakers

Creative corner—jot down ideas from brainstorms 

Parking lot ideas—ideas that arise during the meeting that aren't relevant to the current discussion but could be considered in the future 

5. Annual meeting minutes template

Best for: annual general meetings

You won't use this template often, but it does help keep a consistent, historical record of your organization's trajectory. To capture key highlights and outcomes of a company's yearly gatherings, use an annual meeting minutes template to keep notes on things like:

State of the organization

Financial review

Strategic initiatives

Recognition and awards

Announcements

Employee questions

6. Client meeting minutes template

Best for: client meetings

Whether you're in consulting, project management, or any other client-facing role, this template ensures both parties are aligned, expectations are well documented, and progress is effectively tracked. Here's what should be included in a client meeting minutes template:

Action items for both sides

Report findings

Client feedback

7. Training meeting minutes template

Best for: training sessions

A training meeting minutes template is an invaluable tool for training sessions, workshops, and learning events. It guarantees that key insights and training content are documented for trainees to refer back to, and helps the ongoing improvement of training programs. This type of template should have room for:

Training objectives

Resource links and materials

Key takeaways

Participant feedback

Who to reach out to with additional questions

Using the right template is only the first step in taking effective meeting minutes. Consider these tips when learning how to take meeting minutes (or don't—your supervisors may want you to take the meeting notes forever if you do too good a job):

Avoid transcribing every word. Instead, aim to summarize discussions into key points and action items.

Stay objective. Present discussions and decisions impartially. You may agree with Barbara's eye rolls that this new project is totally useless, but don't let that personal opinion show in your notes.

Consider sharing your screen. For ultimate alignment, you could share your screen while you take notes during the meeting. This way, attendees can verify your notes in real time or chime in with any suggested additions. 

If you want to go a step further, you can use software to do the heavy lifting for you:

Transcription services record meetings and transcribe the audio into text to supplement your meeting minutes. You could include timestamps from the transcription next to key points of your notes for extra context.

AI meeting assistants take things a step further, leveraging AI capabilities to condense the transcription, pull out key takeaways, and produce a list of action items. This method lets you stay present during the meeting while still ensuring accurate and efficient meeting minutes.

You can also automate other routine meeting tasks with Zapier. Learn more about how to automate meeting management , so you can focus on what matters.

Related reading:

4 things you shouldn't use meetings for

19 Zoom tips and tricks for better video meetings

How to make your meetings better with asynchronous techniques

The best appointment scheduling apps

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Cecilia Gillen

Cecilia is a content marketer with a degree in Media and Journalism from the University of South Dakota. After graduating, Cecilia moved to Omaha, Nebraska where she enjoys reading (almost as much as book buying), decor hunting at garage sales, and spending time with her two cats.

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How to write meeting minutes: ultimate guide, table of contents, what is a project outline, what are meeting minutes.

Meeting minutes are an official record of a meeting for its participants. They're also sources of information for teammates who were unable to attend.

Despite their name, meeting minutes don't have to be a record of every single minute, it's a tool to only include the most relevant information in your document.

Meetings are popular tools used to move things forward in organizations. However, they're also infamous for their inefficiency.

According to a 2021 Fellow report , 51% of people are still recording meeting notes individually, instead of using a collaborative document.

Why are they called “meeting minutes”?

The word "minutes" in "meeting minutes" has nothing to do with time. It comes from the Latin word minutia , meaning trifles or details. Meeting minutes capture the relevant details of a meeting as a record for attendees and other interested parties.

Who is responsible for taking minutes for a meeting?

The corporate secretary generally takes notes and prepares meeting minutes. If there is no specific role for this in your company, the job should rotate between people who know how to take notes for a meeting. When taking meeting minutes, it is best to use a template like Slite's free meeting minutes template .

What are meeting minutes good for?

Meeting minutes are incredibly handy tools that can offer your team an array of advantages. Once you’ve integrated them into your regular workflow, you’ll never go back.

1. They make meetings more efficient

Meeting minutes can help avoid endless discussion and back-and-forths because they make things more efficient.

Also, you’ll avoid humming and hawing because you’ll have a list of exactly what needs to get discussed and put into action right in front of you.

An effective meeting minutes format also helps with this, as agenda items are often placed in tables that assign contact people, plans of actions, and the like.

2. They outline the meeting's structure

As a general rule, a meeting leader should never go into a meeting without a precise plan outlining what needs to be discussed.

If you put together regular corporate minutes, you’ll get in the habit of determining meeting agenda items in advance.

This will add structure to your meetings and make sure everything gets discussed thoroughly but efficiently.

3. Keep everyone up to speed

You can simply send meeting attendees a copy of the relevant meeting minutes and they can bring themselves up to speed right away.

This benefit is especially convenient if you use a software like Slite where meeting notes are saved and are easily shareable from one central workspace.

4. Avoid forgetting about important topics

If you know how to take meeting minutes effectively and revise meeting notes before a meeting, you can ensure that nothing important gets left out of the discussion.

You’ll be able to refer to the agenda items already marked down in your draft and even check meeting minutes from the past.

Meeting recap minutes are also handy documents that can be glanced at before a meeting ends, just to make sure everything has been covered.

6. Increase accountability

Lastly, meeting minutes add a degree of accountability to both what’s discussed in meetings and meetings themselves.

When a topic is discussed at a meeting, the person taking the meeting minutes usually writes down a team, contact person or leader that’s associated with that meeting item.

This gives that specific person(s) accountability over that topic and avoids confusion surrounding who’s “in charge” of one task or another.

Evidence of deadlines

Minutes for a meeting help keep important deadlines visible, so everybody involved can allocate their time properly and projects can stay on schedule. Software like Slite can help you highlight important deadline dates and make sure those accountable are notified ahead of time.

7. Improves client relationships

Meeting minutes can be great accountability tools for clients. If there’s ever any doubt about whether an item was discussed at a meeting (or whether the meeting was even held at all), minute meeting notes are handy documents to refer back to provide clarity and avoid frustration.

What to include when writing meeting minutes?

The contents of your meeting minutes will depend on your company’s needs and the kind(s) of meeting you generally hold. However, the following elements are usually included in most meeting minute documents:

1. Meeting basics like name, place, date and time ‍

It’s important to include basic details about your meeting at the top of your meeting minutes document. This ensures that everything is organized and that your meeting can be identified at a glance.

2. List of meeting participants

Next, you’ll want to include a list of everyone who was present at your meeting. Minutes for a meeting should have the name of every attendee present.

This identifies everyone who’s working on or involved with a given project or topic, as well as noting down which employees are informed about what.

3. Meeting purpose

Every staff meeting minutes sample should have one central goal. You might discuss a variety of topics, but there should be one main objective on the agenda.

It’s essential to note this down because it helps provide direction to the meeting and clarity regarding its focus.

4. Agenda items

A great sample of staff meeting minutes should include all the agenda items that were addressed at a meeting.

If possible, it’s a great idea to talk to the meeting leader and note down these agenda items before the meeting begins for maximum note taking efficiency.

What is an Agenda?

A meeting agenda is an outline of topics and provides information important to the person compiling the minutes.  For example, board meeting minutes can use the names of attendees and topics discussed to ensure everybody involved has the necessary documents and to keep the discussions from veering off topic.  To create successful meeting notes, you must know how to write meeting agenda notes. Our meeting agenda template can help.

5. Next meeting date and place

At the end of the meeting, your team should determine how long it will be until everyone needs to meet again. Make sure to note down the date and time in your meeting minutes.

6. Documents to be included in the meeting report

You might have additional meeting documents that you’ll want to attach to your report and refer back to in the future. This might include reports, presentations, documentation, and so on. The sky’s the limit. With Slite, you can share your agenda with team leaders and members in real time and make all the necessary project documentation easily accessible to all interested parties.

7. Key action items

Most teams end meeting minutes with action items describing steps that must be taken to meet project goals. Capturing every assignment that was mentioned in a meeting can be difficult, but using meeting minute templates and software like Slite can make this process more efficient and ensure that you have an accurate record of upcoming tasks and responsible parties.

How to take meeting minutes effectively

A great meeting starts well before you start writing the minutes.

To ensure you know how to take meeting minutes effectively, you should always clarify what is expected of you as the note-taker, especially if it's a new role for you.

It's also important to check with the meeting owner that the meeting agenda is set in advance. Not only is this an essential step to run an effective team meeting, but it's also a great way to be more efficient.

The steps to creating efficient and effective meeting minutes include:

‍ 1. Create an outline or use a meeting minutes template 2. Check off attendees as they enter 3. Take notes of action items and decisions 4. Don't write everything down 5. Don't forget to record 6. Put down meeting minutes as they're discussed 7. Review with attendees at the end of the meeting 8. Revise your notes and fix any spelling errors

Let's discuss these steps on how to take minutes for a meeting in more detail:

1. Create an outline

Use your agenda items to prepare an outline for your meeting minutes and fill-in the list of meeting attendees.

Slite's meeting minutes template gives you a consistent meeting minutes format and creates an outline for you. This makes the process of creating an agenda, assigning speakers, and recording meeting content much easier.

2. Check off attendees as they enter

When creating minutes for a meeting, check off attendees as they enter the (virtual) room to ensure you don't miss anyone. When the meeting begins, hold a final attendance call and record the results.

3. Previous meeting notes

If necessary, include references to items from earlier meeting minutes, like:• Previous meeting minutes with action items that have been revised • A summary of previous meeting notes• Items that will extend into the current meeting as action items

4. Don't write everything down

When making meeting notes, only write down important and relevant information. You don't want the meeting notes muddled with unimportant material, so focusing on the useful details helps you keep things straightforward and to the point.

5. Don't forget to record

The best way to keep track of meetings is to record it on your iPad, smart phone, or other recording device and inform participants.  Recordings can be useful even if you already know how to take notes for a meeting.

6. Put down meeting minutes as they're discussed

Instead of waiting until the meeting is over, write your observations down while the notes are still fresh in your mind. Studying an example of meeting minutes from past meetings can help you determine what items your team finds most important.

7. Review with attendees at the end of the meeting

At the end of the meeting, review the MOM (minutes of meeting) with attendees to clarify any issues, add any additional information, and check to see that everything is correct. This gives you a chance to make necessary adjustments immediately.

8. Revise your notes and fix any spelling errors

Revise the notes, fix any spelling errors, and make sure they are clearly written.If you're wondering how to write meeting minutes more efficiently, note-taking software like Slite, let you setup meeting minutes templates for different meetings and pre-attach relevant documents.

More Efficiency & tips for great meeting minutes:        

Type directly into your laptop so you don't have to retype meeting notes later.

If anything is unclear, speak up and ask for clarification right away so you won't have to poke around after the meeting. Don't leave room for ambiguity.

Only capture essential points. Write down the main decisions and action items concisely, and be sure not to miss any. You'll always have time to go back to your meeting minutes when wrapping-up after the meeting if you wish to add some more details.

Finalizing your meeting minutes

You should wrap-up your meeting notes right after your meeting concludes, while everything's still fresh in your mind:

- Complete your meeting notes and clarify points when necessary - Double-check that decisions and actions are precisely noted• Keep things as concise and digestible as possible - Proofread with care. Nowadays you can use automated grammar checkers such as Grammarly to help you do so - If needed, send your draft to the meeting leader before sharing it with other attendees. This is especially important for more formal meetings like Board of Directors or committee meetings. - Use a document editor , like Slite, to easily format your notes in a reader friendly manner

Related content Discover how to run effective meetings with Slite

A meeting minutes example

You’ll want to structure your meeting minutes in accordance with the type of meeting you’re having. Below is a meeting minutes example with items for an informal meeting. You can also discover fully customizable meeting notes templates with Slite. ‍

Sharing your meeting minutes

You made it! This last step is crucial: make sure to share your meeting minutes with all meeting attendees and relevant stakeholders.Furthermore, you can choose to store your meeting minutes in a collaborative tool like Slite so that everyone has easy access to it.

How to share meeting minutes

Once the meeting minutes are written down, they need to be shared. This can be done physically as paper printouts, but it is easier to distribute them online or through the cloud.

If you are looking for a paperless way to compile and share minutes for a meeting, Slite lets you share minutes with the team online, and also helps you distribute important documents and charts to team members before the meeting.

Why handwritten meeting minutes are a bad idea

If you are still compiling your minutes of meeting by hand, here are a few reasons why you should switch to an online template.

Harder to search through

Sifting through handwritten minutes for a meeting is a difficult and time-consuming task. Looking through notes written into an online template - where you can find what you are looking for with a simple search - is a much more efficient use of your time and resources.

Difficult to Add New Meeting Notes

Because handwritten notes can't be changed, it's difficult to add new information to existing handwritten meeting minutes.  When you put your meeting notes into an online template, adding new information or restructuring your notes is as easy as selecting text or moving a cursor.

Lacks organization

Handwritten meeting notes are naturally more scattered and disorganized than corporate minutes you produce using a template. When you use templates provided by Slite, you have an organizational structure that helps you compile the important points in a clear and legible form.

Harder to share

If you have handwritten meeting minutes with action items, the only way you can share these notes is by xeroxing copies or taking pictures of your notes. Both these strategies are inefficient and rely on paper in a world that overwhelmingly relies on online data when making decisions.

Easily Lost

When you store meeting minutes online in a consolidated data bank with regular backups, you know exactly where they are and can access them from your desk or your laptop. If a paper recording gets lost, it's gone for good.

Can be difficult to read

Deciphering someone else's caligraphy can be difficult and many skilled businesspeople have lousy handwriting. For compiling minutes of meeting notes, it's best to go with an easily legible font and a template that anyone can understand to save time and avoid confusion down the road.

How to Take Meeting Minutes with Slite

Team meetings are notorious for inefficiency and wasted time, but Slite’s meeting templates make meetings more efficient. They provide a structure that helps ensure everything important gets discussed in a timely fashion, and ensures that no important topics are overlooked.

Slite lets you share minutes for a meeting and relevant data with team leaders and members, thereby keeping all important personnel in the loop.  

You can even provide access for clients who want to know about the project’s status. This improved accountability and communication can help you cement better client relationships.

Laure Albouy is Slite's first marketing hire and in charge of Product Marketing. Her role? Making sure our users get the most out of Slite —including guides, product announcements, market research and more. Laure lives in Paris and is a pasta afficionada.

Working remotely? We have been since 2016. Slite may be the right communication tool for you!

Managing projects remotely discover our list of the best softwares to use in 2022..

How to write meeting minutes: tips, tricks, and templates

How often have you finished a meeting and thought to yourself, “What just happened?”  

Well, you’re not alone. According to statistics , employees attend approximately between 11 and 15 meetings each week. 

Consequently, they need to absorb a lot of new information, and some struggle to keep track of all necessary details. 

Fortunately, with concise and thorough meeting minutes, they can find notes about their in-person or virtual meetings in one place. 

In this blog post, we’ll help you learn how to write meeting minutes and optimize the process with four free templates. 

Without further ado, let’s dive in. 

Table of Contents

What are meeting minutes?

Simply put, meeting minutes serve as a written record of everything that occurs during a meeting. 

However, they also act as:

• Proof of a business’s ethical practices ,
• A reminder of upcoming projects and deadlines ,
• A handy summary for those who couldn’t attend a meeting , and
• A record of a company’s progress during a specific period . 

Although meeting minutes are supposed to simplify decision-making and ensure all employees are on the same page, it’s not enough to list the conclusions of a meeting. 

In the age where more and more companies are opting for a hybrid work model , lackluster notes can prevent employees from staying focused and contributing to the company’s goals.

The good news is that with sufficient planning and well-structured meeting minutes, you can hold engaging meetings where all participants are up to speed with the latest developments and know their responsibilities.

What is the purpose of meeting minutes?

Besides being a convenient way to record duties and deadlines, meeting minutes are an excellent tool to promote accountability . 

When team members take on a new task, they can refer to the minutes to check the due date . 

Plus, managers and higher-ups swamped with obligations can rely on this summary to stay on top of major changes . The same applies to employees unable to attend a meeting. 

They can review the minutes, and if they have more questions or comments, the provided information will point them in the right direction. Thus, meeting minutes can prevent employees from falling behind in their tasks and significantly reduce FOMO in the workplace. 

Another purpose of meeting minutes is to commend employees for their exceptional performance and bolster team morale . Who doesn’t want to be part of a work culture that praises the achievements of each member? 

If a project manager or client notices you’ve exceeded all expectations, their praise can also find its way into the meeting minutes. You can thus use the minutes as an invaluable asset during your performance review and show proof of your exceptional work. 

In addition to being a brief reminder of past and future tasks, the minutes offer positive recognition to meeting participants. 

How to write meeting minutes

As we mentioned, meeting minutes should be brief but should not take the form of a list. For this reason, it’s essential to invest enough time and effort in the pre-planning stage and develop a comprehensive meeting agenda. 

As a rule of thumb, the meeting organizer is in charge of creating the agenda. 

This outline chronologically highlights:

• The meeting objectives , 
• The critical roles of the participants , and 
• The time estimates for the projects and tasks . 

Since the agenda provides structure to meetings, it’s also the backbone of meeting minutes. 

Without a clear agenda, you risk holding an unproductive meeting and producing unorganized meeting notes. 

💡 Pumble Pro Tip

To learn more about crafting a great meeting agenda, check out this blog post: 

• How to write a virtual meeting agenda: Templates, tips, and examples

When forwarding the outline to teammates, the meeting organizer should reach out to the minute-taker and confirm they’ve received the agenda. Moreover, they should state their expectations clearly and inform the minute-taker which details their notes should include. 

In the below example, Katie Stark shares the agenda with her coworkers, asking them for constructive feedback . 

No matter how meticulous the agenda is, the success of the meeting rests on collaboration . Unless the organizer is clear about the minute-takers responsibilities, the final draft may be missing some critical details. 

For example, if the meeting is about voting about new company policies, inform the minute-taker whether they should jot down all arguments for and against the proposed motions. 

Assigning a minute-taker

While some organizations have an appointed minute-taker for each session, most use a strict set of criteria to select an individual most suitable for the role. Taking meeting minutes carries a lot of responsibility. 

Not only are you supposed to interpret the notes, but the message should be clear to all employees that access the minutes. Although some assume that fast typists make excellent minute-takers, that’s not always the case. 

What makes a good minute-taker stand out is their ability to:

• Absorb someone’s words, 
• Evaluate their delivery, and 
• Pinpoint their perspective. 

Rather than mechanically scribbling a string of words, minute-takers should engage in active listening while simultaneously noting the critical messages. 

In most cases, the minute-taker is also involved in setting up the meeting and is familiar with the agenda, which allows them to steer the session in the right direction. 

While the minutes are supposed to make holding meetings and delegating tasks a breeze, some still need more guidance on taking meeting minutes without difficulty. 

The good news is that we’ll break down the process into three simple stages, and you’ll know exactly what to do before, during, and after a meeting. 

💡 Pumble Pro Tip  

Minute-takers aren’t the only people responsible for setting the course of a meeting. To learn how to maximize productivity during meetings, check out this blog post:

• 5 Meeting roles you need to assign for more productive meetings

How to take concise meeting minutes 

The contents of the minutes might vary based on the company’s industry, product, or service, but in general, all minutes contain the following points:

• The subject and title of the meeting ,
• The time and date of the meeting ,
• The name and title of the attendees ,
• The meeting agenda ,
• A brief overview of all discussion points ,
• A summary of the action items and major conclusions , and
• The date and time of the next meeting .

Note that the above sections may vary in length. For example, the title, time, and date take up a single line at most, while you’ll likely need several paragraphs to summarize the agenda. 

On the other hand, the easiest and most efficient way to organize the names of attendees is in the form of a bullet point list. 

To promote clarity and transparency, it’s a good idea that the minutes align with the meeting agenda and match its structure. In a way, they’re the CliffsNotes of the session — a quick glance should provide enough detail for coworkers to understand the entire story. 

As you’ve probably concluded, a lot goes into producing meeting minutes, and you may doubt your note-taking skills. 

Not to worry — with our helpful tips below, you’ll quickly become a master minute-taker. 

Tips for efficient minute-taking

Since many minute-takers are directly involved in arranging the meeting, their responsibilities quickly pile up, and focusing on structuring a clear summary can be a challenge. 

But with some effective pre-planning and time management, you can categorize your duties into three categories — before, during, and after the meeting — and avoid the pitfalls of taking bad meeting minutes. 

What to do before a meeting

Although the meeting may be days or weeks away, that doesn’t mean you should wait until the last minute to prepare for the event. 

On the contrary, if you devote a bit of time to the following pre-meeting tasks, you’ll take the hassle out of taking minutes in the future. So, let’s see what you should do before taking down the minutes for a meeting. 

Step #1: Select a format

The meeting minutes of an organization should follow a uniform format. This approach allows all attendees who review the notes to identify relevant information quickly. 

Consequently, many companies adopt a meeting agenda and minutes template the minute-taker can rely on to fulfill their duties. 

Additionally, meeting minutes templates prevent the session from veering off-topic and ensure that everyone:

• Understands the purpose of the meeting,
• Recognizes future goals,
• Has access to the necessary paperwork, 
• Is ready to contribute to their team, and
• Understands what their duties and deadlines are. 

Larger organizations typically use several templates for different meetings. 

For example, you’ll need to use a more formal style for board meetings, while a weekly team meeting is more relaxed and you can use a simple format. 

If you’re unsure about the best approach, don’t hesitate to reach out to the chairperson or your superior. They can provide you with existing meeting minutes examples or suggest the most suitable format. 

Step #2: Determine and recheck the agenda

According to Joanna Gutmann, a consultant specializing in meeting skills and author of Taking Minutes of Meetings , a helpful agenda ensures that all attendees are well-prepared for the upcoming session, and one of its primary purposes is “to give structure to the minutes.” 

While minute-takers contribute significantly to the agenda, the meeting organizer usually comes up with the items the participants will discuss. 

Therefore, when reviewing the agenda with the meeting organizer, make sure to go over the layout of the items. If the plan follows no apparent order and participants jump from one topic to the next, the lack of focus will hinder the session and lead to some poor and potentially detrimental decisions. 

Although no agenda design is perfect, Gutmann advises that it’s best “to deal with important items first.” For most people, concentration is at its highest at the start of a meeting, so it’s an excellent tactic to resolve critical issues before the group loses momentum. 

What to do during a meeting

After pre-planning the meeting, it’s time to think about the best practices that will allow you to take concise minutes. 

Step #1: Consider recording the meeting

Even when participants closely adhere to the agenda, they may talk over each other, preventing you from capturing each point. If you’re concerned about keeping up with such a rapid pace, you can record the meeting and refer to the file when polishing up the meeting minutes draft. 

Of course, always ask the attendees whether they’re okay with you recording the session. If your organization uses a business communication app like Pumble , you can quickly ask the attendees for their consent beforehand. 

Remember that you shouldn’t take entire sentences from the recording and incorporate them into the minutes. Instead, the recording serves as a reminder of what was said, and you should listen to it to further clarify specific items.

Step #2: Take attendance

One of the first things a minute-taker does at the beginning of a meeting is record who is in attendance. 

For smaller gatherings, you can record the names of participants as they enter the conference room or join a virtual call. 

But for larger meetings, it may be more convenient to pass around an attendance list or check the responses on the virtual invite. 

In addition to creating a list of attendees, your company may require you to include additional information in the minutes, such as:

• The names of absent participants, and
• The names of those who have sent in an apology. 

Step #3: Stick to the main points

The minutes should be short and straightforward, but how do you determine which details are worth including? You want the participants to navigate the document and understand the core decisions but fear overwhelming them with too many details. 

Gutmann explains that for each action item minute-takers record, they follow “the action triangle.” 

So, for every decision you add to your notes, make sure to explain the following:

• What task the meeting participants have agreed on,
• Who is responsible for seeing through the project,
• When the team expects the responsible party will complete the job. 

Step #4: Ask questions

Strategy meetings can last 60 to 90 minutes, while decision-making meetings can stretch over several hours. As executives and participants try to cover as much ground as possible, interrupting and asking for clarification sometimes feels rude. 

However, as the minute-taker, your task is to compile an accurate and thorough record, and you should ask for more insight when necessary. 

For example, if you notice the group has moved on to a new item without reaching a clear outcome, you can ask one of the following questions:

“Could you confirm this action for the meeting minutes?”

“Would you mind repeating the deadline for this project?”

“Who is responsible for carrying out this task?”

And just like that, you’ll have the necessary details to expand your meeting minutes draft, and the session will continue as planned with no major disruptions. 

What to do after a meeting

You’ve carefully followed the meeting, and now you have a rough outline you’ll use to craft the meeting minutes. The below tips will help you streamline the process and allow you to keep all your coworkers in the loop. 

Step #1: Edit the notes

When proofreading your notes, eliminate typos and select the optimal style format. Many organizations follow the AP style guide, but your company may have a different preference. 

To ensure maximum brevity, try to:

• Stay objective,
• Remove personal observations,
• Use the same tense in the entire document, and
• Attach additional documents as an appendix or insert a link to the relevant pages.

And as Gutmann points out, meeting minutes are all about “the message, not the words.” So, take some time to reread the minutes and weed out flowery language. 

Step #2: Flesh out the minutes with contextual information

There’s a fine line between producing unbiased and fact-based minutes and adding too much context. 

Generally, only write names when referring to action items and voting motions. When a coworker who couldn’t make it to the meeting glances at the summary, the minutes will tell them with whom they should follow up for any remaining inquiries. 

Step #3: Share the meeting minutes

A company can only be successful with collaborative communication . Thus, it’s essential that you distribute the meeting minutes and make sure they’re accessible to your coworkers. 

Since more and more businesses of all sizes are choosing the remote-first approach , you can use a team communication app like Pumble to share files in a designated channel, like in the example below. 

And, don’t forget to shoot a message to the meeting participants and inform them the meeting minutes are now online. 

Regardless of the work model that works best for your organization, you can boost productivity by using a robust communication tool with impressive video conferencing capabilities like Pumble. Check out what this app brings to the table:

• Pumble Features

4 free meeting minutes templates

Few phenomena have altered the workplace as much as video conferencing , and you likely spend time joining several different meetings each week.

That doesn’t leave a lot of room for much else, and making a template from scratch takes valuable time away from more pressing duties.

But without a handy template, you’ll work overtime revising and organizing the notes. 

Luckily, with our four free meeting minutes templates, you’ll easily tackle one-on-one, team, business, and corporate meetings. 

👉 All you need to do to access the templates is click on the appropriate link and make a copy on your device by clicking File > Make a copy.

One-on-one meeting minutes template

Although some think one-on-one meetings don’t require an agenda or minutes, a template can help both parties remain on topic. 

Whether you’re meeting with your mentor, coach, or superior, an easy-to-follow summary helps lay the foundation for all future sessions. 

🔽 Download our free one-on-one meeting minutes template here . 

Corporate meeting minutes template

Whether you’re taking minutes for a board of directors, shareholder, or board committee meeting, you’ll need to keep track of serious actions and discussions. 

Our template begins with a standard Call to Order, moves into an attendance list, and lays out discussion topics like reports.

🔽  You can download our corporate meeting minutes template and tweak it to fit your purpose.

Business meeting minutes template

When developing a service or product, meetings ensure that all employees share the same goals and do their best to help the business reach important milestones. 

With our customizable business meeting minutes template, you can: 

• Check in with different teams, 
• Organize team updates, and 
• Assess their progress so far. 

🔽 Download this meeting minutes template here. 

Team meeting minutes template

Team meeting minutes are essential for holding each member accountable and keeping everybody on the same page. Whether you prefer to have weekly or monthly sessions, a good template can make the discussions more productive and ensure that the team meets all deadlines. 

🔽 Download our template here to bolster your team and increase productivity. 

Wrapping up: Meeting minutes ensure that all meetings are organized and productive

Meetings are only successful if they motivate employees to up their performance. However, since we often receive complex information at work, remembering every detail of a discussion can be challenging. 

But, companies and teams that rely on meeting minutes can easily bypass this obstacle and create a concise summary of each meeting. 

Well-structured meeting minutes maintain team productivity, reminding the members of their shared goals and individual responsibilities. Moreover, should an employee have further questions, the minutes will show with whom they should follow up. 

So, test our templates in your in-person or virtual meetings or create your version to make the sessions even more productive and keep all participants engaged. 

✉️ What about you? Do you take meeting minutes for your business or team? What are some of your best tips and tricks? Let us know at [email protected] , and we might include your response in this or one of our upcoming posts.

Martina Stojkovski is a communication author and researcher passionate about exploring innovative strategies that enhance collaboration. With her expertise, she aspires to empower individuals and teams to soar beyond their limits by penning insightful articles. When she’s not grinding away, you’ll probably find her nose-deep in a good book, following a virtual workshop, or getting back to nature.

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Note Taking

10 meeting minutes templates and examples for word and clickup.

Haillie Parker

August 21, 2023

We’ve all been there. When you’ve reached your limit and can’t seem to remember those next steps Barb asked for in your last  virtual meeting .

This feeling hits you like a ton of bricks, always at the worst times—like halfway through a presentation or right after you sign off in a “what just happened” kind of way. Luckily, there’s no reason to panic because the solution is simple: check the meeting minutes!

Meetings are a critical component of the workplace and make up about 15% of an  organization’s total time spent . That’s almost a full day’s work!

Without reliable software to track meeting minutes , teams may lose track of critical conversations for solving major problems plaguing the company. And by accurately capturing what happens in those meetings, you’re investing in the future health, functionality, and effectiveness of your team. 

Still, the big question remains:  how do you write meeting minutes correctly?  That’s where we come in! 💪🏼

By the end of this post, you’ll have a solid grasp of how to write meeting minutes and 10 customizable meeting minutes templates for ClickUp, Excel, and Word to keep your team informed.

Pop on your blue-light glasses, open your digital notepad, and follow along!

What Are Meeting Minutes?

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Meeting minutes (also referred to as minutes of meeting or MOM ) provide written documentation of what occurs during a meeting so there’s a clear record for everyone involved—whether they attended or not. 

They are great tools for organizations that meet regularly for events like a project kickoff meeting or a status update. Done correctly, they serve as a window into past discussions, helping you revisit ideas and facilitate problem-solving.

The information also provides a quick way for higher-ups to stay updated on big changes. Or if a member missed the invite, they can reference the minutes and follow up with the appropriate person for further questions or comments. 

But our personal favorite way to use meeting minutes is for team recognition. If a client compliments your performance on a project—that goes in the minutes! Who doesn’t love healthy team morale? 👏

The final copy is then proofread for any mistakes or typos and sent to all team members, including anyone who missed the meeting or who would benefit from knowing what happened. This guarantees everyone has access to vital information in a timely manner and prevents PTO-induced FOMO at work. 💞

Bonus: Meeting Cadence for Remote Teams

Meeting minutes vary depending on your team’s needs, industry, or product, but all minutes should include a few key bits of information: 

• Meeting title and subject
• Date and time
• Record of attendees (name, title, and organization) 
• A meeting agenda/cadence
• A brief summary of each discussion item
• Major decisions and action items 
• The date of the next meeting

Some sections will be longer than others. The title, date, and time should take up no more than a line, while the agenda summary may take a few paragraphs. The attendees and action items should be succinct, bullet-point lists.

Each section should align with the meeting agenda . This helps the reader understand the order of events and easily hop around to locate a specific point! Think of your meeting minutes as the Spark Notes of the meeting—they’re easy to digest but will still give you the whole story!

If additional topics are covered that weren’t planned on the agenda, you can create a new section or designate another as “open discussion” or “other items” to indicate an issue arose that wasn’t initially planned.

Capturing all of this information is critical to ensuring the notes are comprehensive and thorough. That’s why you should always start with a meeting minutes template to make sure nothing is missed. 🤓

A meeting minutes template is a pre-formatted document that outlines everything you need to take meaningful minutes from a meeting. The right template will allow you to add key information like who was in attendance, the beginning and end of the meeting, key points, and more. 

Plus, meeting minutes templates work with different document collaboration software to help you edit, customize, and reuse them for future meetings.

An effective meeting minutes template will give you all the necessary tools to sufficiently document the events of a meeting. Using this template, you should be able to organize all meeting details in a presentable, accessible format that everyone can understand. 

But before you start building your own template from scratch or investing in the first one that pops up on your search, there are a few significant features to look for in an efficient meeting minutes template:

• Collaboration features to edit, comment, and delegate work amongst the team
• Flexible sharing and permissions options to make sure the right people have access to your minutes
• Intuitive and rich styling options to properly format your meeting minutes
• The ability to embed other files, media, links, and images into your document

The best meeting minutes templates will be compatible with or built into your preferred document editing tool. This makes it possible to integrate your template with your other work meeting tools , or even your virtual meeting platform! In this case, making sure your meeting minutes template aligns with your tech stack is another major asset.

These elements will ensure that every meeting is worthwhile and that everyone walks away with the information they need. Combined with other meeting materials and recordings, your meeting minutes template will be an invaluable asset in maximizing the productivity of every meeting.

10 Meeting Minutes Templates & Examples

To help you find the template you need in time for your next brainstorming session, use this list of our top 10 meeting minutes templates for your favorite document editors. Find detailed template descriptions and feature breakdowns, plus, access each template directly from this article!

The Meeting Minutes Template by ClickUp makes it easier than ever to include all the crucial details of a meeting using a one-page ClickUp Doc that can be edited, shared, and copied for future meetings.

This template comes pre-formatted with separate sections for general information, your meeting agenda, updates, announcements, and more. It’s also highly visual, with customizable styling features to add checklists, tables, media, data, and more to help members quickly digest the minutes.

Especially for routine meetings with the team, this beginner-friendly template covers all of your bases and is a great starting point for those who are new to writing meeting minutes in general! If you’re looking for a simple but thorough structure that makes organization efficient—no matter the type of meeting —this Doc template should be your go-to.

Not only is the Meeting Minutes Framework Template by ClickUp beginner-friendly, easy to customize, and thorough—it also exists within ClickUp’s powerful and collaborative Docs feature that allows you to work alongside your team with real-time editing.

Summarize the important details of your meetings, including attendees, action items, and links to additional resources, all of which you can conveniently organize as separate subpages within your meeting minutes document.

You can also use this framework template to track key items learned, outcomes for stakeholders, and tasks for designated teammates to complete based on the listed action items. The depth of this template makes it the perfect resource for keeping everyone informed, engaged, and on the same page, literally.

Add emojis, images, formatting, and styling options to  instantly structure your notes  and make your writing stand out. Plus, share your Doc instantly via URL, or attach it to your task for easy access at any time. And did we mention ClickUp Docs are connected directly to your workflows?

Taking a slightly different organizational approach to your minutes, the Minutes of Meeting (MoM) Template by ClickUp applies a pre-built task to your workspace. This simplifies and standardizes the traditional note-taking process by structuring your recurring details and action items in an interactive List .

In this task, you’ll find a Getting Started Guide in the task description with step-by-step breakdowns of how to use the template in the most productive way possible. You’ll also have access to multiple Help Docs to make the most of ClickUp’s other key features including subtasks , Custom Fields , Checklists , and more.

Beyond the task description, this template automatically populates four subtasks to track attendance, the next meeting’s items, address current issues, and view this week’s meeting agenda. And to double-check that all items were covered, your minutes writer can use the post-meeting assessment checklist to determine whether the meeting was a success based on its goals.

The requirements of your meeting minutes may differ when it comes to teams across different industries and use cases. Luckily, ClickUp offers tons of templates to remedy this very challenge! Starting with the Board of Directors Meeting Minutes Template by ClickUp .

Like the other templates in this guide, this meeting minutes Doc template allows you to record and tag all attendees, along with the agenda and action items. But your board of directors may have specific expectations that vary from your typical meeting, and this template gets that—so you also have the ability to record voting results for each action item and provide high-level meeting notes.

You can also quickly share the document with all other key players using the “Share Doc” button in ClickUp!

The Project Management Meeting Minutes Template by ClickUp will help you get the most out of your project management meetings with a complete list of items in a customizable ClickUp task.

You can start using this template ahead of your project kick-off meeting with designated sections for helpful links, meeting details, agenda, and project team members—all from the comprehensive task description.

Another section details the project schedule review, which will indicate work completed, the work planned for the future, and other miscellaneous notes. Plus, you can list the different risks and issues that might negatively impact each project using one of the six Custom Fields found in this template.

From there, you can oversee your project’s progress after the meeting with five pre-made subtasks to:

• Make sure all members have access to the proper tools
• Cost breakdowns are allocated for the quality management team
• KPI dashboards are in place

And more! If you need a comprehensive meeting minutes template for project management, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better template than this one.

Not quite ready to take on the meeting minutes? Start by taking detailed notes! The Meeting Notes Template by ClickUp is the perfect bare-bones meeting notes template to organize the details of your meeting and keep team members aligned.

Sections in this template include:

• Meeting Date, Time, Agenda
• Meeting Recording Link
• Key Takeaways and Summary
• Action Items.

Together, this one-pager template will help you take basic notes that could supplement other meeting materials—including the meeting minutes!

Another template that can assist with note-taking during meetings is Recurring Meeting Notes by ClickUp . This template is ideal if you conduct regular meetings and want to track progress with each recurring meeting.

You can use this document to manage all agenda items, list to-dos, refresh your memory from previous meetings with a high-level overview, and assign different action items to team members. Of course, you can also include details such as the date of past, current, and future meetings, the specific meeting purpose, attendees, and absentees. Additionally, indicate whether the number of attendees meets the quorum for each meeting.

Want a solution to help track meetings from start to finish? Add the Meeting Tracker Template by ClickUp to your workspace! This detailed template includes all information in a comprehensive and actionable List to plan, prepare, and manage action items as you go.

You can use the template to track all types of meetings and projects, from one-on-ones and quarterly business reviews to birthday celebrations and other events that venture outside of traditional business meetings.

The template includes many components to assist with every aspect of meeting tracking, including three statuses, eight Custom Fields, and four view types.

While ClickUp is a great solution for keeping all meeting documents in a single location with optimal shareability and other features, you may want to use a meeting minutes template for Excel if your organization already invests in Microsoft products. This Meeting Minutes Executive Tracking List is a basic spreadsheet template for keeping track of details in executive meetings.

This XLS-formatted meeting minutes template uses a simple sheet layout with multiple columns to track all meeting details. Include information such as descriptions of tasks, assignees, due dates, required resources, and executive status records.

If you use Microsoft Word regularly, you may benefit from a Meeting Minutes Template for Word, with Microsoft offering a number of meeting minutes templates. You’ll find plenty of customizable document templates for all types of meetings, including admin meetings, PTA meetings, and this classic meeting minutes template for general team meetings. 

Can’t find a suitable template for Word? Microsoft also allows you to create documents from scratch. 

The way you record meeting minutes will depend on your writing style and your ability to capture notes quickly. No need to worry about speed right off the bat though, with a little time and experience, you’ll develop a rhythm for capturing the right information.

That said, here are a few reminders to help you create the best meeting minutes of all time: 

Your notetaker is not your minutes writer 

Notes and minutes are different—and they need to be treated that way! While meeting notes can be formal or informal, meeting minutes have a standard set of practices and information included. 

Sometimes meeting planners assign facilitators to take notes on a meeting and later ask the same person to create meeting minutes from those notes. Other times, the meeting planner may even use these terms synonymously! You’ll likely sacrifice the consistency and quality of your minutes by doing this. 

Putting too much responsibility on the notetaker can lead to less comprehensive notes or gaps in sections of the meeting minutes. By overloading one person with both jobs, you may compromise their ability to do either task successfully.

So if you’re responsible for the minutes, give them 100% of your focus. 

Tell the story as efficiently as possible

Stick to the important points.

Instead of harping on every little detail, focus on the big ticket items and leave it to the reader to ask questions. Your minutes will point them in the direction of the right person to follow up with. 🙂

If an issue is raised in the meeting, be sure to document: 

• The problem or challenge being addressed
• The ideas being considered as solutions
• The agreed-upon path forward
• When you can expect the problem to be resolved

Including extra information can get in the reader’s way, making the minutes harder to follow. A better idea is to only include the most salient points. 

Clean it up 

Trust me, you’re not going to want to share your raw meeting minutes without a heavy edit. Instead, use your first pass as the foundation to structure your final draft. During the editing process, you’ll craft the notes into a coherent narrative that follows your team’s consistent minutes structure. 

During the meeting, focus on the information. Don’t worry about the organization of your notes until you’re ready to edit—that’s when the minutes take shape!

Re-reading and re-writing the notes will help you better remember the discussion and give you a fresh perspective on each topic.

Pro tip: Rather than trusting your good old-fashioned pen and paper for this job, try taking structured notes in a digital notepad!

Tools like ClickUp’s Notepad and Chrome Extension provide a quick and intuitive solution for fast note-taking. Instantly add formatting and style with rich text editing to make your notes more thorough, even mid-meeting.

Always, always, always ask questions

Don’t leave anything to chance! If any notes or comments seem unclear, reach out to that person for clarification if you can. What’s most important is that you get the facts correct for those who couldn’t attend or need a refresher. Accuracy over speed! 

Accountability starts with the action items 

Your action items will be one of the shortest components of your meeting minutes but possibly the most important! 

This is the section where you record the next steps for solving problems addressed during the meeting. That’s why every action item should include a few hard and fast details: 

• The decision or action that needs to be taken
• Who is responsible for completing the task
• When it should be complete

This is how meeting minutes promote accountability and help participants track tasks more effectively. Our suggestion? Craft your meeting minutes in a dynamic document tool that allows you to add and assign comments to your writing.

(AP) Style matters

It’s always a good idea to follow the AP Stylebook when finalizing your summary. The meeting minutes should be edited, proofread, and free of errors. Typos pull the reader’s attention away from the matters at hand and honestly, they’re just not professional. 

Check, double-check, and have someone else check your work. Eliminate mistakes and let the reader stay focused on the content. 

Get your facts straight

The primary purpose of meeting minutes is to convey what happened. 

Consult your notes or the meeting recording to ensure you’re sharing the correct information. And instead of guessing, talk to your peers! Do everything you can to verify that the minutes are reliable.

Prepare Your Meetings With the Right Meeting Minutes Template

While templates can save you a ton of time, they become even more valuable when you can edit, access, and manage them alongside your other work. Free project management software like ClickUp is designed to fix the very problem and so much more. 

Even chose from ClickUp’s growing Template Library or create your own to fit your team’s unique needs. 🦄

And did we mention that ClickUp integrates with over 1,000 other work tools ? Even Zoom ! All to make your meeting minutes process that much easier. 😇

And the best part: these features are completely free . 

ClickUp’s collection of meeting minutes templates, collaborative Docs, and powerful meeting management features are accessible to anyone for free, forever. Want to get in the driver’s seat? Get started with ClickUp now !

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Best Practices

Capture the Essentials With Concision: How to Write Meeting Minutes (With Examples!)

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Why do some meetings really move the needle, while others feel like a colossal waste of time? There’s obviously more than one answer to this question, but more often than not the effectiveness of a meeting is determined by something as simple as its minutes.

Fundamentally, a meeting is a powerful method to move things along, to realize objectives, to clear up confusion and roadblocks and to accelerate progress. Yet without a few key components, they’re about as pointless as spending an afternoon playing solitaire at your desk.

And the minutes or record of a meeting are one of these key components which serve to achieve a meeting’s objectives. In part, the minutes function to:

• Inform any key players not in attendance of everything discussed and accomplished at the meeting.
• Provide accountability for any motions passed or tasks delegated during the meeting.

So for anyone who’s invested in accelerating objectives or maintaining the momentum of an organization, the minutes are not a minor detail, but rather a cornerstone that cannot be overlooked.

If you’ve been assigned what’s sometimes considered the “dreaded” task of recording the minutes, it’s doubly difficult if you don’t understand what to include in them, or how to make them effective. It’s easy to err on the side of including way too much detail, or on the other extreme or leaving the significant information out.

But the process needn’t be incoherent. With just a few guiding principles, and maybe a few tricks up your sleeve, you’ll become proficient in no time, making yourself a huge asset to your team or organization.

Let’s look at some samples of meeting minutes, define what they are, and go over how to write meeting minutes, whether for a board meeting or a daily stand up.

Meeting Minutes: The Basics

What are meeting minutes? “Minutes” is another word for “record,” and so the minutes of a meeting are simply a record of what happened. To record the minutes simply means to transcribe or capture the essentials of everything that occurs during a meeting.

A lot can be discussed in a meeting. Just a thirty minute meeting may easily cover ten issues. Plans are made, responsibilities are delegated. Yet after it adjourns and everyone walks out the door to resume their busy lives, it’s easy to completely drop the ball on everything discussed. And then the meeting’s potential is completely wasted.

The minutes facilitate follow through. They document all of the planning that occurs during a meeting and function as a reference and accountability tool. They can also serve as a tool to plan upcoming meetings.

The minutes, essentially, are a mirror image of a meeting. And as such, the minutes will only be as good as the meeting itself. When a meeting is disorganized or functions more like a social hour, the minutes are pretty useless. A meeting first of all needs clarity around its objectives, and must be conducted in accordance with these objectives. In short, it needs an agenda .

And so the minutes work hand in hand with an agenda to realize the meeting’s potential and forward its objectives.

The Benefits of Writing Minutes

Within most corporations, keeping the minutes is a requirement. They’re necessary for corporate records and serve as an auditing tool. And for good reason, as the minutes provide several valuable benefits. Specifically, minutes serve to:

1. Reduce Confusion

Within a fast-paced meeting, it’s nearly impossible to simply rely on memory to keep track of everything covered. The minutes clarify who proposes motions, who seconds them, etc. There’s no confusion later on around who said what, and who’s taking responsibility for what.

2. Reinforce Plans

Repetition certainly serves to cement ideas and initiatives. And writing minutes is one way to etch them in stone. The minutes of a meeting serve to reinforce objectives, and in doing so, increase the likelihood that follow through occurs.

3. Provide a Reference Tool for Absent Members

Chances are, some of the people who should be in attendance at a meeting won’t be. Maybe they’re sick, maybe they have a conflict, maybe they’re on vacation. And so the minutes serve as a reference tool that allow critical stakeholders to quickly become abreast of the topics discussed. This reduces lag and maintains momentum.

4. Reduces Conflicts

If there’s one thing that’s given within any initiative or organization, it’s conflict. Personalities and priories inevitably collide at one point or another. And the minutes serve as a written statement that eliminates excessive “he said she said” quibbles. Many conflicts are easily resolved with just a quick reference to the meeting minutes.

With these benefits in mind, let’s move on to discuss the parameters around what to include and what not to include in the minutes of a meeting.

The Dos and Don’ts of Minutes

Minutes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and the purpose and nature of the meeting largely determines what goes into the minutes. The minutes of a bi-annual board meeting might go into much greater detail than a regular weekly roundup, for example.

However, the minutes of every meeting need to include certain criteria, so let’s go over some parameters around how to transcribe the minutes, what to include in them and what not to.

The “Dos” of Meeting Minutes

Here’s a quick list of everything to include within the minutes of a meeting:

• All the basics , including things like the date, the time, the duration, and the location of the meeting.
• The agenda or purpose of the meeting , or its “headline.” Sometimes there are multiple objectives and in this case, state them according to level of priority.
• Attendance . Indicate who was present at the meeting, and also any key stakeholders who were absent.
• Any motions that are seconded . As any approved motion will come to the table for further discussion, it’s important to note the motion, who introduced it, and who seconded it and brought about its approval. For example, a motion might say:“Andrew moved that the parking lot be plowed whenever it has 2” or more snow. Jill seconded the motion.”When a meeting is conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Orders, it’s important to use the correct terminology around motions, indicating for example if it’s a motion to amend or to modify, or simply a motion.
• Major decisions. Perhaps the meeting is about approving the purchase of new equipment, or approving a new marketing campaign. Certainly include any initiatives that gain approval during the meeting, and if there was a vote, indicative how many voted “yay” and “nay.” In certain instances, it might be necessary even to clarify who voted yay and nay.

Delegation of tasks (action items). This is central as it enables the minutes to serve as an accountability tool. For example, rather than writing “it was decided that a deejay would be hired for the company party,” the minutes indicate the “who” and the “what,” clarifying who would contact the deejay, and what the budget is for hiring him.

Parking Lots. And finally, mention any issues that surface during the meeting that weren’t on the agenda, as well as who brought them up. These may well become the focus of a future meeting.

The “Don’ts” of Meeting Minutes

Now let’s consider practices to avoid and things to leave out with respect to meeting minutes.

Leave Out Personal Spin and Projections

As much as possible, meeting minutes present an objective assessment of everything that transpires at the meeting. And so even though the transcriber might have a personal “take” on what occurs, this spin isn’t included in the transcribing. Statements such as:

“The same drama between Cindy and John resumed again” or “Paul did a flustered job of presenting his questionable proposal” would be edited in the minutes to indicate a more dispassionate perspective. Something more suitable might say: “Cindy and John disputed” and “Paul presented his proposal, and several members voiced concern.”

Leave Out Excessive Detail 

The challenge of minutes is capturing the essentials while leaving out the nitty gritty. Although the level of necessary detail will vary depending on the nature of the meeting, generally certain details can always be omitted. The following sentences demonstrate an excessive and unnecessary level of detail.

“Ann brought her usual plate of chocolate chip cookies and everyone helped themselves.”

“Kevin left the meeting for a five minute personal break, and returned refreshed.”

Write the Minutes as They Occur, Not Afterwards

Transcribing minutes can be a frantic process, and it’s probably tempting to just set down the pen or close the laptop, and listen and participate. However, if you wait until after the meeting to write the minutes, key details get left out. Even with a mind like a steel trap, it will be impossible to recall the nuances of exchanges, and who was responsible for motions, etc.

If a meeting runs at such a quick pace that even a court reporter couldn’t keep up, then it may only be possible to write down key details in shorthand, then write a more complete version of the minutes later on.

Type, Don’t Write

Although it might be annoying to hear the keyboard clicking away during a meeting, typewritten minutes generally save time in the long haul. Oftentimes minutes need to be revised and cleaned up after the meeting, and typewritten minutes allow for a smooth editing process.

This summarizes a few parameters for meeting minutes. Sometimes minutes can be as simple as one or two sentences. “John, Cindy and Joe met on Thursday afternoon to discuss the budget, and decided to cut out buying a new copy machine.” While at other times they require much greater detail. But these parameters serve as good general guidelines across the board.

Meeting Terminology You Need to Know

For any newbies to transcribing minutes, much of the language used during a meeting might sound strange or unduly formal. This is particularly the case when a meeting is run according to Robert’s Rule of Order. In order to become proficient at transcribing meeting minutes, it might be necessary to add some new phrases and terms to your vocabulary. Here are some of the most commonly used meeting terms that any transcriber needs to know.

Call to Order: This formally begins a meeting. Usually the call to order is initiated by the chair, and sometimes he or she may even strike a gavel onto the table to indicate the official start to the meeting.

Main Motion: A motion presents an idea, a suggestion, or a topic of discussion to the meeting. In order to “pass,” the motion must be seconded by another member of the meeting. A main motion can be amended by subsidiary motions.

Second: In order for a motion to pass into consideration, it must be seconded by another member of the meeting. This simply means that another person approves the motion verbally.

Orders of the Day: This calls a wayward meeting back to its agenda, and it’s an essential term for keeping meetings punctual and on track.

Take from the Table: This indicates a request to “take from the table” and resume previously discussed topics.

Point of Information: This phrase is addressed by an attendee to the speaker. It’s a request for further inquiry into the topic being discussed.

Point of Order: Any attendee can use this term toward another attendee. It indicates that the rules have been broken or protocol hasn’t been followed.

Adjourn: This is an official call to end the meeting. This is the point where the minutes end as well.

Although this is a small sampling of common meeting terminology, it’s a good start to developing some meeting proficiency. Once these terms are down pat, it allows a transcriber to understand everything that’s going on within a meeting, and to transcribe the minutes effectively.

7 Strategies to Simplify Transcribing the Minutes

Writing the minutes is a difficult job. It’s a skill, really, to consolidate an hour’s worth of discussion and presentation into just a few pages of text. Here are some tips and suggestions for making the process easier.

1. Appoint a Designated Transcriber

A successful meeting requires the full participation of all members. Yet, if a key stakeholder has to transcribe at the same time he or she attempts to participate, their capacity to contribute to the discussions decreases.

One solution, then, is to bring someone in who isn’t a stakeholder, solely for the purpose of writing the minutes. This person could even be a meeting coordinator; someone who creates and sends out the agenda beforehand, and who then writes the minutes and distributes them to everyone afterwards.

This method frees up everyone else to fully participate and engage in crucial discussions. However, oftentimes meeting discussions are confidential, and so if a team seeks out this solution, it’s wise to choose the outsider with care. In order to keep a lid on hot button issues, it’s necessary to find someone with a high level of discretion.

2. Streamline the Meeting Beforehand

When a meeting has a coherent and legible agenda, then the outline for the minutes is already written, and completing them just becomes about filling in gaps. Developing a strong agenda can take a little planning and may require reaching out to meeting participants several days beforehand to solicit agenda topics and the time required to present them. When the process for developing an agenda is streamlined, creating the minutes becomes proportionately easier.

3. Jot Notes, Formalize Later

Meetings often play out at rapid fire speed. One topic may branch into several others, raising multiple key points within the space of just a few moments. In order to transcribe everything as it occurs, it may only be possible to write things down in scribbles and shorthand. Afterwards, when more time is available, it’s possible to flesh things out and revise the minutes.

4. Have AI Create the Minutes

Within some organizations, manually creating meeting minutes has become a thing of the past. For example, the software Read: AI uses summarization techniques to condense an hour long meeting into just a two minute video. It’s a bit like watching the highlights reel of a sports game. In addition to this simple summary, Read also provides bullet points of key ideas discussed, and assigns each member a participation score.

In order to use Read, the meetings must occur on a video conference platform. So if your meetings are remote, then Read may provide a quick and easy method to crank out meeting minutes. However, some have found glitches in the software, citing that key discussions get cut out of the highlights reel.

5. Use Robert’s Rules to Run a Meeting

Robert’s Rules is a set of meeting protocols developed by Henry Martyn Robert in San Francisco in the 1870s. Robert was a US army officer who came to appreciate that local community meetings didn’t offer any structure and so couldn’t accomplish their objectives. So he developed a structure intended to facilitate productive meetings, and he based them on parliamentary procedure.

The benefit of using Robert’s Rules is that they have been widely adopted and the procedures have become the standard for meetings held in the USA. This familiarity allows for shorthand and abbreviation of procedures and so it simplifies the minutes process.

6. Use a Template

A meeting template is probably a must for anyone who creates minutes. The template presents all of the necessary information in an easily digestible layout. Not only is it simple to fill out, but the temple also allows others to easily scan the minutes for key information.

7. Use Shorthand for Names and Key Terms

Meetings all use a lot of the very same words, actions and motions. And generally, the very same people speak over and over again. And so the minutes become much easier when they use abbreviations for oft repeated phrases, words and names. Names can simply be written as initials, and things like motions or seconds can be abbreviated as well.

These seven tips provide some strategies to simplify writing the minutes of a meeting. Writing minutes is a skill, and anyone who starts out doing it will experience a learning curve for sure. After a while, the process of distilling key information becomes easier, and it becomes intuitive what to leave in and what to leave out.

3 Examples of Meeting Minutes

The minutes of one type of meeting won’t look quite the same as another. It’s necessary to consider the significance and intended purpose of a particular meeting in order to determine the necessary information to record, and the level of detail to include.

An annual board meeting with much discussion and debate requires a detailed record of the motions that are carried, the tasks assigned, and an overview of who said what. However, the minutes of a weekly committee meeting can be brief, as everything discussed will be carried into the larger more significant meetings.

And as a rule, even though they’re written in the moment, the minutes of a meeting are composed in past tense. This way, they read as an event that has already transpired.

Let’s look at a few standard meetings that occur within most organizations, and consider what the minutes might look like for each.

1. Weekly All-Team Meeting

The function of an all-team meeting is to keep everyone abreast of goings-on in various departments, to buoy spirits and to resolve issues and blockers. It keeps an organization lubricated and maintains its momentum. As this meeting is recurring and frequent, the detail needn’t be granular. It’s not big-stakes, but rather is more about providing status updates.

Here’s a sample of what the minutes might look like for a weekly all-team meeting:

Weekly All Team Round Up

Date: Friday, May 31st

Start & End Time: 9-9:30 AM

Location: Company Conference Room

Objective: Each Department Provides a Weekly Updates

Status Updates:

• JR of Marketing provides an update on leads and monthly tickets. He requests an increase in the marketing budget for Q3.
• RC of Sales provides an update on call numbers, meetings, total contract revenue and announces conversion rates of 83%!
• GI of Accounting provides the Q2 benchmarks. Currently we’re at 89%. She compares these numbers to those of last year (70%) and attributes the improvement to the Q1 marketing campaign.
• AP of Events provides an update on the upcoming summit. A catering company has been hired and the speakers are lined up.
• BB of Human Resources announces two new hires and shares updates in onboarding and offboarding procedures.
• JR of IT announces upgrades and discusses a possible company wide software transition.

Blockers and Issues:

• GI raises concern with the software transition within the accounting team. As many within her team have used the current software for a decade, she anticipates strong resistance to change .

Adjournment & Inspiration:

• JR shares words of inspiration.
• KP closes the meeting.

2. Sprint Planning Meeting

Now let’s consider a sprint planning meeting. These occur whenever a team begins a new iteration of work. The function of this meeting is to determine what tasks to take on, how many story points the team thinks it can complete, and who will be assigned to which tasks. The length of the meeting would vary depending on the length of the sprint, but for a two week sprint it’d probably last about two hours. Here’s what the minutes might look like for a sprint planning meeting:

Sprint Planning Meeting for Blue Door’s Website Project

Objective: To select and delegate tasks for the upcoming sprint.

Date: Friday, February 23rd

Start/End Time: 10 to noon

Location: Video Conference Platform.

Attendance: Josh, Chris, Lisa, Amber and Ryan. Denise is absent.

• Discuss the Progress of the Website Project. Josh reads feedback from the client regarding the current increment. The client likes it overall, but would like the site to have greater usability. Everyone discusses what “usability” means and how it might apply. Client also hopes to tweak the layout. Chris and Lisa compare notes and concur they can make the requested changes.
• Discuss Member Availability Chris says he will be gone for a week of personal time (a family wedding). No one is sure if Denise will be back at work the following week.
• Discuss Next Steps & Select Backlog Items Amber (Product Owner) suggests that the next tasks for the sprint include finding a content writer and testing the current layout.
• Discuss Blockers, Anticipated Issues The team estimates its velocity and sees that since Denise is absent and John will be gone, Amber’s estimates are too high. Some of the testing is taken off the table.
• Delegate Tasks Josh and Lisa plan to work together to reconfigure the layout. Amber will look for a copywriter. Everyone will work together to complete testing.
• Adjourn . The meeting adjourns at 10:00.

3. Bi-Annual Board Meeting

This is a more formal, big stakes meeting. A bi-annual board meeting determines the direction the organization takes for the upcoming period. Many impactful decisions are made around strategic objectives, initiatives, campaigns and overall goals. The minutes require careful documentation of who said what, what was proposed, how it went down, and what key decisions our outcomes emerged from the meeting.

Bi-Annual Board Meeting for Acorn Industries

Objective: To Develop New Marketing and Product Initiatives, and Evaluate Q1 and Q2 Growth.

Date: July 20th

Start/End Time: 10 am – 2 pm, with a lunch break at noon.

Location: The Acorn BoardRoom.

Attendees: 6 of the 7 of the board members were in attendance, including Robert Smith, James Johnson, Maria Martinez, David Garcia, Evan Jones, and Marsha Brown.

Absentees: Michael Williams

• Call to Order: Robert Smith called the meeting to order at 10 am. Maria Martinez recorded the minutes.
• Old Business: James Johnson presents the sales figures for Q1 and Q2, alongside feedback from the top clients. Everyone discusses why the sales declined in Q2. The consensus is that the economy is the cause for decline in sales.
• New Business: David Garcia proposes adding a new line of products. His presentation demonstrates how the products would serve the intended audience. He also proposes a marketing strategy to reach these new clients. Discussion follows. MB and EJ support the initiative, but MM believes that the marketing campaign might be off.
• Parking Lots: None
• Adjournment: The meeting is adjourned at 2:00.

These three examples summarize what the minutes might look like for three various types of meetings. As you can see, the level of detail varies depending on the nature of the meeting. And the function of the meeting also determines what the minutes look like.

8 Tips to Run a Successful Meeting

The minutes are only as good as the meeting itself. And meetings don’t just happen. They are a window of opportunity, and whether a meeting’s potential is maximized depends on how it is executed. Let’s look at various strategies for planning a meeting.

1. Use Robert’s Rules of Order

Since their inception in the 1870s, Robert’s Rules of Order have been widely adopted within all US organizations, including Church groups, civic organizations like Kiwanis and Rotary, clubs, parent teacher organizations, and so on.

Robert developed these rules with the aim to leverage the capacity of a meeting. They preclude scenarios where chaos reigns, and rather to allow democracy, order and productivity to rule the day.

And so the rules have theory baked into them. They allow a group to arrive at a consensus around a decision without quibbling for hours, they prevent idiosyncratic factions from steamrolling or blocking progress and they limit the capacity of manipulative members.

Resorting to these rules, then, provides a meeting with order and structure from the get-go. As they’ve been updated over the years, the rules can be modified to suit the nature of a particular meeting.

2. Focus on Wins

A meeting offers the opportunity to strengthen the company’s culture and to facilitate productivity within a group. One way to do this is to focus on the company’s wins. Highlighting achievements in a public setting builds a positive and celebratory rapport within the group. This might mean announcing new talent joining the group, singling out star employees, sharing positive client feedback, or celebrating the achievement of a goal.

3. Work through Questions & Blockers

The biggest obstruction to progress are those “stuck” places where progress is stalled because the software glitches or the right tool isn’t available. Meetings offer a space to surface these issues, and provide the synergy and collective brainpower to find solutions and move beyond stuck places.

4. Headline & Abbreviate Everything

Oftentimes engaging in a meeting requires major context switching. People have just been lurched from another task, another phone call, or possibly even another meeting, and are now asked to focus on the topic at hand.

And so in order to engage everyone right away, it’s necessary to distill messages down to the bare essentials. A concise and simple presentation of information allows people to easily focus on the topic at hand.

A few hacks include using at least 36 point font in slides, and providing a quick and dirty context behind the topic at hand. Explain the goal, any background information, and the “why” behind the “what” of the message.

5. Know Your Audience

Although it’s often the case that we know everyone at a meeting fairly well, sometimes it happens that we might enter into a room full of brand new people. In these instances, it’s always a good idea to do some research beforehand. What are the expectations of the individuals in attendance? Will they be receptive to your ideas or presentation, or are there office politics that you should know about? This knowledge allows you to formulate your message in such a way that it’s receptive to the people hearing it.

6. Be an Expert But Not a Know-It-All

Being an effective presenter and participant at a meeting requires some delicate dancing. While it’s necessary to have plenty of expertise in your given area, being the smartest person in the room can be an immediate turn off. This finesse means presenting with accuracy, but only digging deeper when the information is requested. Have back up slides that drill down into important detail, but don’t deluge people with too much information all at once.

7. Circulate the Agenda Beforehand

The worst thing that could happen is to plan a meeting, gather everyone in the room, begin presenting and then have some executive pause and say that the topic isn’t relevant, let’s not waste everyone’s time and call the meeting off.

Circulating the agenda 1-2 weeks ahead of time informs everyone of the purpose of the meeting, and allows key stakeholders to check off and approve it beforehand.

8. Present With Ease and Good Humor, Regardless

An easygoing presenter generates a similar response from his or her audience. It sets the tone, and then even the most acerbic or controversial topics are addressed and handled civilly and constructively.

These are a few pointers toward running a successful and functional meeting. They create a context in which the minutes are purposeful and useful as well.

We’ve all been to those meetings where there’s been no follow through. Tasks are assigned, decisions are made, but ultimately it amounts to nothing.

A meeting, ideally, helps an organization move. It creates an outlet to move past blockers, generate ideas and build momentum. Its potential is enormous. But in order to achieve this, a meeting needs three essentials: minutes, discipline and an agenda.

The minutes document all of the crucial moments of the meeting. They will vary depending on the nature of the meeting itself. But for any meeting, the minutes should serve to:

• Provide accountability for tasks delegated.
• Summarize key moments for anyone who didn’t attend.
• Provide a record of what transpired for auditing purposes.

These three criteria provide guidance around how to compile the minutes and what to include in them.

If you’ve just been assigned the task of writing minutes of a meeting, they might look a bit incoherent with your first try. But with just little guidance, they’ll start looking professional in no time.

If you’re working in a remote team, capturing minutes might present a special challenge. Be sure to check out Teamly , the project management tool that allows remote teams to function with ease.

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How To Write Effective Meeting Notes (With Templates And Samples)

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Whether you contribute to intense marketing meetings or you’re tasked with recording official board or committee meetings, taking effective meeting notes or minutes can be elevated to an art form, changing the dynamic and success factor of any organization.

Ever left a long meeting scratching your head wondering “What just happened?” That’s probably because a) the meeting leader botched it or b) you took little-to-zero notes.

You can’t control “a)” but you can darn sure improve your note-taking skills. Whether the meeting notes are for you alone or to be shared with your team, the responsibility rests on you to stay informed and engaged in the meeting.

Intentional, action-facing note taking can launch your team’s success factor to new levels of effectiveness. Your team will be “reading off the same page” or “singing from the same hymnal” (choose your metaphor).

Before you fill that coffee mug up, check the conferencing tech and sit in an ergonomically correct chair, take time to enter the correct “meeting headspace.” As you set up your note-taking tool (more on that later), jot down how you plan to take notes. Answer the following questions:

• Who will read the notes? Think about your audience — Are they your colleagues or external partners? What expectations do they bring to the meeting? What will they expect you to communicate back post-meeting?
• What’s on the agenda? Know it. Love it. Be the agenda. By shaping your notes template before the meeting with the agenda plugged in, you avoid the temptation to stray into trivial side roads.
• Predict expectations – What insights will your team likely request from your notes? Weblinks? Past document references? Task lists? Predict the tools and keep them handy.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel. We included a few of our favorites at the end of this article .

In the Meeting

Now for a word about meeting tactics.

• Ask attendees to adhere to the rules of a “no-device meeting” to help everyone stay focused and engaged in the discussion.
• A designated note taker, or nowadays an automated AI note taker , can also help to keep meeting attendees accountable and engaged.
• Don’t be distracted by side-discussions, gossip or office politics that so often hamper the direction and purpose of the meeting.
• The best way to stay on target is to always conform to the agenda. That doesn’t mean promoting inflexibility. Rather, a well-crafted agenda reflects the optimal goals for the meeting; your notes should focus on those points.
• Speaking of audiences, your team is the audience of your shared notes so write to their level of understanding. Do you tend to use jargon that may not be understood across departments?
• Write for clarity. Review. Edit.
• Use Otter.ai for your meetings and you'll have automated meeting transcripts for future reference. You can also highlight important parts in real-time.

After the Meeting

The meeting is over; you’re back at your desk. You have a collection of facts, quotes, tasks, graphics – in short, the raw materials for awesome notes.

After you’ve crafted and edited your notes, it’s time to send your masterpiece to the team. A few things to remember:

• Be timely in distributing the notes. Don’t obsess over every tiny detail. Make sure you have updated contact data for every attendee.
• Send the notes the optimal way for your team. Often, this means e-mail but you may need to format your notes to work with project management apps such as Jira , Slack , Asana or Microsoft Teams .
• Before hitting send, ask a fellow meeting attendee whose judgment you trust to review the notes. That may head off future criticism. Well, it probably won’t – at best it will minimize it – because…
• Your well-crafted, awesome notes will be criticized. Be prepared. “That’s not how it went down!” “My team never agreed to that plan of action.” Don’t worry: You have a new strategy for dealing with the inevitable finger-pointing or disagreements about the outcome of the meeting in question. No more arguing, as you can always share a snippet of the synced Otter meeting notes to settle any disagreements.

Your transformation into a master note taker may well depend on your comfort level with note-taking apps. It’s worth the effort to research, learn and employ the latest and greatest in meeting notes software.

Make sure you use an app that’s well known, user-friendly and can be easily integrated into most IT devices and operating systems. Meeting note apps should, at a minimum, offer:

• Collaboration tools enabling real-time comments and team-editing (if post-editing is appropriate).
• Integration. The meeting note taker should fit into your existing work flow for meetings.
• A file-insertion function so team members can review relevant documents, spreadsheets, etc.
• Multimedia capabilities to maximize images, graphics, video, and audio.
• Documentation histories to track edits, as well as tracking action items.
• Cross-platform/cross-device flexibility. Your team should be able to review meeting notes seamlessly across all devices.

Otter for Teams offers a variety of collaborative functions that releases a new level of note-taking super-powers.

• Smart notes that sync audio, text, and images
• Search, play, edit, organize and share functions from any device
• Secure sharing with groups
• Conversation organization with personal folders
• Integration with Zoom, Dropbox, G Suite and the Office Suite.

Free Meeting Note Templates

Team meeting minutes, organization meeting minutes, classic meeting minutes, formal meeting minutes, download the google docs version here.

[Team Meeting]

[Date] / [Time] / [Location]

Last Meeting Follow-up

[Add your text here.]

New Business

Action Items

Next Meeting Agenda

- Download the Google Docs version here

[Organization/Committee Name]

Meeting Minutes

The regular meeting of the [Organization/Committee Name] was called to order at [time] on [date] in [location] by [Facilitator Name].

[Attendee names]

Approval of Agenda

The agenda was [unanimously approved as distributed.]

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were [unanimously approved as distributed.]

Open Issues

[Summarize the discussion for each existing issue, state the outcome, and assign any action item.]

[Summarize the discussion for new issues, state the next steps, and assign any action item.]

Agenda for Next Meeting

[List the items to be discussed at the next meeting.]

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at [time] by [Facilitator Name]. The next general meeting will be at [time] on [date], in [location].

Minutes submitted by:

Approved by:

Call to order

A meeting of [Organization or Team name] was held at [Location] on [Date]. Attendees included [list attendee names]. Members not in attendance included [list names].

Approval of minutes

[Replace any placeholder text with your own. For best results, don’t include space to the left or right of the characters, including the brackets, in your selection.]

Unfinished business

Announcements

[Add your text here.]Secretary

Date of approval

[Company]/[Department Name]

I. Call to order

Facilitator Name called to order the regular meeting of the Organization/Committee Name at the time on date at location.

II. Roll call

Secretary Name conducted a roll call. The following persons were present: attendee names

III. Approval of minutes from the last meeting

Secretary Name read the minutes from the last meeting. The minutes were approved as read.

IIII. Open issues

a) Open issue/summary of the discussion

b) Open issue/summary of the discussion

c) Open issue/summary of the discussion

V. New business

a) New business/summary of the discussion

b) New business/summary of the discussion

c) New business/summary of the discussion

VI. Adjournment

Facilitator Name adjourned the meeting at the time.

Minutes submitted by: Name

Minutes approved by: Name

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Templates for keeping meeting minutes

Meeting minutes matter. keeping track of them can be more precise and less tedious when you don't have to worry about your layout. start with a customizable meeting minutes template for an easy-to-tweak layout for all your minutes notes. whether you like to keep your minutes digitally or by hand, there's a meeting minutes template that'll match your flow..

Keep meeting minutes and notes with ease using templates

Spend more time taking effective meeting minutes and less time organizing them—start with a designer-developed, customizable meeting minutes template. Minutes make hours, so don't waste them on tasks that you can do faster with the help of easy-to-use templates. Business meetings beget notes. Keeping precise minutes is important for accurate records. But professional contexts aren't the only places where you can benefit from a minutes template. Serve on a condo board or an HOA? How about a nonprofit or a school-sanctioned club? Find a meeting taking template that works for your meeting's needs and say good-bye to messy notes.

How To Write Meeting Minutes With Free Templates

Oct 17, 2023 | 0 comments

If you’ve been appointed meeting minutes note taker, you may be feeling the pressure. There’s so much information and discussion to record, and you want to do your best, right? The good news is that writing effective meeting minutes doesn’t have to be an arduous task. Whether keeping an official record of the board meeting or creating team meeting notes, our best practice tips ensure success as a note taker. And to make your task even easier, we include a minutes template for the most common meetings. All you need to do is download and adapt to create effective meeting minutes every time.

Ready to get started? Let’s get back to basics by exploring what meeting minutes are all about.

What Are Meeting Minutes?

Meeting minutes are a written record of what happened at a meeting. Minutes record motions, decisions, key discussions, action items, and next steps.

They are used in formal settings like board meetings. However, they are also helpful for project meetings, cross-departmental collaborations, and even team meetings.

Why Are Meeting Minutes Important?

Formal meeting minutes have several purposes, including the following:

• They are an official record of a group’s decisions and discussions. In the context of board meetings, they can offer legal protection against challenges and confirm due diligence when making decisions.
• Meeting notes are a reminder for participants of actions and next steps.
• They confirm deadlines and tasks assigned for future reference.
• Meeting minutes are helpful summaries of the key points for anyone absent.

How Do I Write Minutes Of A Meeting?

The best place to start is the meeting agenda. The agenda outlines the meeting’s purpose and the items to be discussed. Use the agenda items to create an outline of your meeting minutes. Often, an agenda item will have supplementary documents. Thoroughly reading these gives you an understanding of proceedings that will help when it comes to writing minutes.

Next, check in with the board chair or meeting facilitator to ensure you’re on the same page. It’s common practice in many organizations to only record the main points and major decisions. Meeting minutes are usually concise summaries rather than a verbatim formal record. However, it’s worth checking the chair’s expectations of what the minutes should cover and agreeing on a document format.

Some minute-takers find it helpful to record the meeting using a smartphone voice recording app. Meetings often move at a fast pace and jump around agenda items. A voice record is a valuable tool for creating effective meeting minutes, as you can refer to it after the meeting.

And don’t be afraid to ask for clarification during the meeting. If the agenda moves on without making a decision or outlining the next steps, it’s fine to request clarity about what to record in the meeting minutes.

When preparing minutes, whatever you do, avoid including personal observations. Sometimes, discussions between meeting attendees can become personal or even judgmental. Stick to factual information only.

And be sure to use the same verb tense throughout your meeting minutes. As you are reporting on a meeting that’s already taken place, it’s best to use the past tense.

When you’ve finished the process of writing meeting minutes, be sure to edit and proofread your work. Fix any typos or grammatical errors. Also, pay attention to formatting. For example, if you use a mix of numbered lists or bullet points, consider changing to one style, as consistency is best.

What 8 Things Should Meeting Minutes Include?

If you want to write effective meeting minutes, there are eight must-have elements. Whatever the meeting format, these are essential to any meeting minutes template.

1. Date And Time Of The Meeting

It seems obvious, but be sure to note the meeting location, date, and time.

2. Names Of Participants

Next, record the names of meeting attendees and those who have sent apologies. Consider taking a roll call at the start of the meeting. Alternatively, you can circulate an attendance sheet. Make sure you identify the chair.

Include a summary or outline of the agenda detailing the topics to be discussed.

4. Approval Of Previous Meeting Minutes

Usually, this is the first formal agenda item. Participants spend a few minutes reviewing the minutes from the last meeting. Sometimes, amendments are made before they are accepted as an accurate record of the meeting.

5. Agenda Items And Topics Discussed

Now we get into the meat of the agenda, where the meeting details are discussed and decisions made. Remember to write down all the decisions and include a summary of the discussions in your note-taking. If motions discussed involved a vote, include a tally of who voted for, against, or abstained.

6. Action Items And Next Steps

There will be several actions and next steps to record when taking notes. Write these down as they occur so that you record them accurately. Capturing everything is likely to be impossible. Instead, focus on significant decisions and recommendations.

A list of outcomes is vital for effective meetings. It’s what holds the group and individual attendees accountable. And it helps ensure that the meeting contributes to the organization’s broader goals.

7. Next Meeting Date And Time

Make a note of the next meeting so that participants know the timeline for completing or reporting back on the tasks they are responsible for. Knowing the date of the next meeting also helps you create a timeline for publishing meeting minutes.

8. Include Supplementary Information

Often, information is tabled at the meeting. Board members may want to review the very latest sales data, for example. Before finalizing your meeting minutes, ensure you include supplementary documents so everyone understands what happened at the meeting.

Who Takes Meeting Minutes?

When it comes to note-taking for board directors, the secretary is usually responsible. Consider rotating responsibility between meeting participants for other types of meetings. After all, it’s good professional development for employees to be proficient in taking meeting minutes.

Board Meeting Minutes Template

Creating a template helps speed up the process of taking board meeting minutes. You can prepare an outline in advance and fill in the blanks during the meeting before finalizing it afterward.

The following board meeting minutes template includes the essentials relevant to most kinds of board meeting. However, you can customize it to suit your organization.

Board Meeting Minutes

Board meeting date, time, and location.

Attendees: List the names of each participant and the chairperson’s name

Board Meeting Agenda

Call to order

• Approval of board meeting minutes from previous meeting
• Insert agenda items and topics for discussion

Any other business

• Confirmation of the next meeting date

Meeting Proceedings

[Insert chair’s name] called the meeting to order at [insert time].

Approval of meeting minutes from previous board meeting

Motion to approve the meeting minutes was made by [insert board member’s name] and seconded by [insert board member’s name]. The minutes were approved.

[Insert item 1]

[Insert discussion on item 1]

[Insert decision made on item 1]

[Insert item 2]

[Insert discussion on item 2]

[Insert decision made on item 2]

[Insert item 3]

[Insert discussion on item 3]

[Insert decision made on item 3]

Action Items

[Insert tasks assigned, the name of the responsible person and the deadline]

[Include any items raised by board members not included in the meeting agenda]

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at [insert time].

The next board meeting is scheduled for [insert date and time] at [insert location].

Board meeting minutes prepared by [insert secretary’s name]. Board meeting minutes approved by [insert chair’s name and the date of approval].

Board Meeting Minute Template Download

Download your free board meeting templates here:

Word document: Board Meeting Minutes Template.docx

PDF document: Board Meeting Minutes Template.pdf

Meeting Minutes Template

Regardless of the meeting type, this basic template covers most bases and can be easily customized. For example, you can add a section to follow up on action items from previous meetings. Download your free template in Word or PDF.

Meeting time, date, and location: [Insert details]

Purpose of the meeting: [For example, to update, discuss, or make decisions]

Attendees: [Insert names of all participants]

Meeting agenda:

• Insert agenda item

Discussion: [Insert a summary of the discussions]

Next steps: [Insert tasks, responsible person, and due date]

Next meeting: [Insert details if appropriate]

Meeting Minutes Template Download

Download your free meeting minutes templates here:

Word document: Meeting Minutes Template.docx

PDF document: Meeting Minutes Template.pdf

One-To-One Meeting Minutes Template

Meeting agendas and minutes are often overlooked when it comes to 1:1 meetings . However, taking meeting minutes is vital. It helps focus discussions and holds participants to account.

One-To-One Meeting Minutes

Date of meeting and attendees: [Insert details]

Meeting purpose: [Insert specifics, for example, general catch-up, review targets and performance, discuss employee development]

• Recognize achievements and lessons learned: [Write notes on achievements since the last meeting and any lessons learned. Record progress on projects, identify any training needs]
• Identify and resolve roadblocks: [Take notes on obstacles hindering progress or causing delays. Record discussion on ways to remove roadblocks and any necessary support]
• Open discussion and two-way feedback: [Record any issues raised by the employee or insights and feedback]
• Tasks and actions: [List agreed tasks, actions, and deadlines]

Follow-up: [Insert details of next 1:1 meeting]

One-To-One Meeting Minute Template Download

Download your free One-To-One meeting templates here:

Word document: One-to-One Meeting Minutes Template.docx

PDF document: One-to-One Meeting Minutes Template.pdf

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Recording Meeting Minutes

Here are some common pitfalls to watch out for when you write meeting minutes.

• Avoid wordy or unclear action items. When it comes to preparing effective meeting minutes, brevity and clarity are your best friends.
• Assign tasks to a named individual and, if possible, identify a timeframe for completion.
• Ensure meeting minutes are signed off by the chair or meeting facilitator.
• Lengthy delays in finalizing minutes are counterproductive. It means meeting attendees are not prompted to get on with doing. So, get the meeting minutes out as quickly as possible.
• Failing to file and manage meeting minutes is another common mistake. Board members and meeting participants should have easy, centralized access to previous meeting minutes and documents.

Best Practice Tips For Writing Meeting Minutes

We’ve covered a lot of ground, so here’s a handy summary of all the main points. Use this checklist to ensure you write effective meeting minutes:

• Use a meeting minutes template.
• Take a roll call of meeting participants.
• Record decisions, motions, action items, and next steps.
• Write in complete sentences to avoid ambiguity and maintain the same verb tense.
• Proofread and edit your minute meetings thoroughly before the minutes submitted are signed off and circulated.

About MyHub

We are a leading provider of cloud intranet software. Our platforms are used by businesses worldwide to connect employees to the information, tools, and resources they need daily. With centralized document management, file sharing, automated forms and integration with Google Docs and Microsoft 365, we have all the tools for creating effective meeting minutes. Find out more with a free demo or 14-day trial .

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How to Write Meeting Minutes

Jump to section, need help with a meeting minutes, what are written meeting minutes.

During a corporation's annual meeting, it is required that someone in attendance, usually the Secretary to the Board, takes notes and records what events took place at the meeting. These notes are called meeting minutes , and they are an essential part of corporate governance.

C Corps and S Corps are required to follow specific business laws to maintain their corporate status. Holding annual meetings and recording meeting minutes (sometimes abbreviated to "MoM") are two requirements that must be fulfilled in most states.

Even if your state does not require recorded meeting minutes, businesses are encouraged to record minutes anyway. Meeting minutes are beneficial for a company because they detail:

• Who attended the meeting
• All issues that were discussed
• Decisions made through motions or votes
• Plans for next steps on these decisions

This can provide your company with legal protection because it is a record of all actions taken by members. In some cases, the IRS will request minutes during an audit. In addition, if a board member missed the meeting, they can refer to the minutes to find out what happened.

Meeting minute records should be retained for at least seven years and must be available to all board members upon request. These records are helpful to a board when they are making decisions about how to move forward with decisions or new projects.

Click here to read more about meeting minutes and their purpose.

How To Write Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes can be written in many ways, and there are several formats that can be used when preparing meeting minutes. It is important that the structure is professional, and all key information from the meeting is included.

Follow these steps to find out how to write meeting minutes accurately and professionally during a corporate meeting.

Step 1: Plan Ahead

If you are tasked with recording minutes during a corporate meeting, planning ahead and creating an outline is a good first step. Before the meeting, meet with the chairperson to discuss the agenda for the meeting. Using the agenda, you can prepare an outline with each agenda item already noted. As each topic is discussed during the meeting, you will be able to take organized, accurate notes.

Step 2: Taking Notes During the Meeting

During the meeting, you will take notes and record all important actions and decisions. Your notes should be as detailed as possible so you don't miss anything when you draft the official meeting minutes document.

Notes you should be taking include:

• Agenda items discussed
• Decisions made during the meeting
• Any actions taken
• Actions planned to be taken
• Future steps that are discussed
• Who made motions
• Voting outcomes for each motion
• How each member voted on the motion
• Motions that may have been rejected
• Information about new business discussed
• The next meeting’s date and time

If you are taking notes and miss something at any time, don't hesitate to ask for clarification or for someone to repeat what they have said. Some people who take notes for meeting minutes go a step further and record the meeting to refer to the recording when drafting the official document.

Michelle T.

Step 3: writing the official meeting minutes document.

After the meeting, using your detailed notes, you can now write the final draft of the meeting minutes. You will want to write the meeting minutes as soon as possible when the meeting is still fresh in your memory.

You will typically follow a professional template or format that your corporation has chosen for the meeting minutes.

Step 4: Submission and Approval of Meeting Minutes

Once the meeting minutes are completed, you must include your name as the person who submitted the minutes and have the minutes approved. It is common in most corporations for the chairperson to review and approve the meeting minutes for circulation.

Step 5: Distribution of Meeting Minutes

Distribution of meeting minutes can happen in several ways. Many corporations have shifted to using a cloud-based platform that all board members can access to retrieve the meeting minutes.

For additional resources about how to write meeting minutes, check out this article .

What's Included in Meeting Minutes?

You will find that meeting minutes can be written in many formats, but they generally include similar key information.

Meeting minutes should include the following information:

• The date and time of the meeting
• What board members attended the meeting and who was not present
• Acceptance and/or corrections to the previous meeting's minutes
• Each agenda item that was discussed with decisions made or next steps to be taken

As the person in charge of recording meeting minutes, you will become familiar with key terms often used throughout the meeting. You should understand these terms as you will probably have to use them in the official meeting minutes document.

Key terms often used in corporate meetings include:

• Agenda: The plan for the meeting, usually laid out as a list of items to be discussed
• Amendment: A modification to a motion that does not replace a motion but adds to it
• Apologies: A notification that a member will be absent
• Business Arising: Recorded discussions in the minutes from a previous meeting
• Chairperson: Sometimes just called the "Chair," is the person who runs the board meeting
• Consensus: Agreeing on a decision without taking a vote
• Constitution: The governing document of the corporation
• General Business: The main objectives that will be discussed
• Minutes: The written record of the meeting
• Motion: A proposed action brought up in a meeting for discussion and voting upon
• Mover: The member who proposes the motion
• Other Business: This is the opportunity for members to bring up additional issues not scheduled on the agenda
• Point of Order: A complaint against a speaker during a meeting
• Procedural Motion: A motion raised to change the timing of events at the meeting
• Quorum: Minimum number of members required to be at a meeting
• Standing Orders: The rules that determine how a meeting is run

What is the Professional Format for Meeting Minutes?

Many corporations use a standard meeting minute template to format their minutes. Templates can vary, but the important part is that they are professional, include all pertinent information, and are organized.

Most meetings adhere to the following professional format:

• An Opening: Includes the meeting title and the meeting's location, time, and date
• Present members: The list of attending members should have full names and that person's title in the company
• Absent members: Should also include full names and title
• Approval of the agenda: This section confirms that the agenda was approved and distributed to members
• Approval of previous minutes: One of the first orders of business is the approval of the previous meeting's minutes
• Business from the previous meeting: After the last meeting minutes are approved, there will be a brief summary of the business that was discussed during the last meeting
• New business: The New Business Section will be the most lengthy and detailed. It should list each agenda item with a summary of what was discussed. You must include a description of the action, what decision was made and why, and major arguments for or against the motion
• Additions to the agenda: If any members bring up new business, this needs to be included in the meeting minutes
• Agenda for next meeting: List the topics set to be discussed at the next meeting
• Adjournment: End the meeting minutes document with the time the meeting ended and the date and time of the next meeting

Who Typically Writes Meeting Minutes?

In most corporations, the Secretary to the Board is usually tasked with taking notes and drafting the formal meeting minutes document. This job, however, can be completed by any of the board members. The person who takes the meeting minutes is sometimes referred to as the scribe, recorder, or notetaker.

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Business Meeting Minutes Template | Sample

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Updated August 08, 2023

Business meeting minutes are the detailed notes taken for meetings held by any type of entity (corporation, LLC, partnership) that occur on a scheduled basis. An annual meeting is a common requirement for most entity types with minutes that prove the meeting occurred and the items discussed. Any major business decisions that are made should be noted along with any votes recorded. The notes do not need to be word-for-word to all that is said in the meeting, but they need to be accurate and as detailed as possible. The minutes are required to be signed by the secretary and the chairperson, or the person leading the meeting.

Formatting (8 parts)

I. meeting details.

• Main Title (top of page) – “Business Meeting Minutes for [ORGANIZATION’S NAME];
• Chairperson’s name;

II. Attendees

• List attendees.

III. Absences

• List absentees.

IV. Call to Order

• Approval of previous meeting minutes; and
• Approval of the current business meeting agenda .

V. Old Business

• List each discussion item outstanding from the previous meeting;
• Describe any issues and/or solutions from the discussion(s); and
• Record any decisions made by vote.

VI. New Business

• List each new order of business under discussion;
• Describe any questions, concerns, or issues from the discussion(s);
• Log any reports or other documentation that is presented; and

VII. Other Items

• Announcements;
• Nominations;
• Upcoming scheduled votes; and
• Any other business matters that are discussed.

VIII. Adjournment

• Record the time of the meeting’s end;
• Chairperson and Secretary sign minutes; and
• Minutes are distributed to all attendees and absentees.

Sample – Business Meeting Minutes

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• January 11, 2023

Board Meeting Minutes 101: Free Template and Examples Included

• --> Written by Toni Hoy
• BLOG , Issues and Trends

As commonplace as it is for board secretaries to take nonprofit board meeting minutes, it may surprise you that boards of directors are not legally required to take minutes at all. Taking minutes with  board meeting software  has become a best practice to support  good governance .

Here, you’ll discover everything you need to know about board meeting minutes and how to take them with examples and a meeting minutes template.

What Are Board Meeting Minutes?

Board meeting minutes provide a record of what happens during a board meeting. Nonprofit board minutes, which typically fall under the responsibility of the board secretary, detail the board’s actions, decisions and key deliberations in connection with the agenda in narrative form. Below, you’ll find a few examples to help answer the question, “What do board meeting minutes look like?”

Examples of Board Meeting Minutes

While nonprofit board meeting minutes follow a similar format, there is no overarching standard for how to write minutes. The following examples will give you a general idea of how other nonprofits approach taking minutes.

• Basic sample #1 
• Basic sample #2

Printable Board Meeting Minutes Template — Nonprofit

A free board meeting minutes template for nonprofits gives your board a good place to start when establishing a process for taking minutes.

Printable Template for Board Meeting Minutes from BoardEffect

Members of organizations are entitled to obtain certain records like financial reports and meeting minutes. More importantly, board directors have legal and fiduciary duties , so it’s important to have a record of the actions that the board took during meetings.

In addition, the minutes of board meetings serve as guidance for the board as they plan and make strategic decisions. Taking board meeting minutes using a specified format and template also serves as legal protection for the board and the organization.

Need a PDF or printable nonprofit board meeting template to share with colleagues? Download your copy here .

What Information Do Board Secretaries Need to Record?

The best source that board secretaries can  use as a guide  for recording board minutes is  Robert’s Rules of Order .

The most important part of the minutes is documenting an accurate account of board members’ actions during the meeting. Secretaries will also want to include a statement of whether the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.

When writing board meeting minutes, secretaries should include an overview of what took place at the meeting without being overly wordy. It should include items such as:

• The meeting’s date, time and location
• Whether it was a regular or a special session
• A list of the presiding officer, directors, staff, guests and other attendees

Designating the percentage of present members constituting a quorum is not necessary. The secretary only needs to document whether  a quorum  does or does not exist.

You will find a more comprehensive list of items to include in board meeting minutes later in the article.

Writing Board Meeting Minutes: Step by Step

Effective minute-taking requires the  secretary  to take four steps. The steps include:

• Planning before the meeting
• Taking notes during the meeting
• Writing a formal report after the meeting
• Filing and sharing the minutes of each meeting

Step 1: Preparation for the Board Meeting

In learning how to take board nonprofit meeting minutes, it’s important to note that every organization records its minutes a little bit differently. The board president can fill the secretary in on any expected meeting minutes formats they should use. Secretaries can also review past meeting minutes and use them as a template. The board president will have a copy of the meeting agenda and the names of all attendees, including guests or speakers.

Step 2: Taking a Record of the Board Meeting

Unless your organization requires the secretary to type notes at the meeting, they can either type them out or write them longhand. A strong board meeting minutes template can help maintain more structured minutes. The two most important things to know when writing board meeting minutes are what information to record and how to present it. To take effective meeting minutes, the secretary should include:

• Date of the meeting
• Time the meeting was called to order
• Names of the meeting participants and absentees
• Corrections and amendments to previous meeting minutes
• Additions to the current agenda
• Whether a  quorum  is present
• Motions  taken or rejected
• Voting-that there was a motion and second, and the outcome of the vote
• Actions taken or agreed to be taken
• Items to be held over
• New business
• Open discussion or public participation
• Next meeting date and time
• Time of adjournment

Detailing the discussions during a board meeting is as crucial as including the information in the bullets above. For each agenda item, write a short statement of actions taken by the board and a brief explanation of the rationale for the activity. If there are extensive arguments, write a summary of the significant ideas.

When writing board meeting minutes, record discussions objectively and avoid inflammatory remarks and personal observations. A good way to do this is by avoiding adjectives and adverbs whenever possible. Check your language to be sure that it is clear, unambiguous and complete.

As noted earlier, nonprofit board meeting minutes are an official and legal record of the board meeting . In a legal arena, meeting minutes are presumed to be correct and can be legal evidence of the facts they report. Boards have legal liability, so keep information basic and language simple to avoid any legal complications that place the organization at a disadvantage in any legal proceedings. Use names only when recording motions and seconds.

After the meeting, the secretary will want to write the formal record when everything is still fresh in mind. It helps to prepare the document soon after the meeting.

Step 3: Writing the Official Record of the Board Meeting Minutes

Review the agenda to gain the full scope of the meeting. Add notes for clarification. Review actions, motions, votes and decisions for clarity. Edit the record so the minutes are concise, clear and easy to read.

It’s better to attach meeting handouts and documents referred to during the meeting to the final copy rather than summarizing the contents in the minutes.

Step 4: Signing, Filing and Sharing Minutes

Once your board meeting minutes are fully written, you are responsible for making them official by having the board secretary sign them. Your organization may also require the president’s signature.

As part of knowing how to take minutes for a board meeting, you should always follow your organization’s by-laws and protocols for storing minutes. It’s a good idea to have backup copies either in print, a hard drive, or (best case) a  board portal .

The secretary also has the responsibility for sharing minutes. Ensure the president has approved the minutes before sharing them in print or online.

Helpful Tips for Taking Board Meeting Minutes

• Use a template
• Check off attendees as they arrive
• Do introductions or circulate an attendance list
• Record motions, actions, and decisions as they occur
• Ask for clarification as necessary
• Write clear, brief notes rather than full sentences or verbatim wording
• Maintain the same verb tense

Common Mistakes in Taking Board Meeting Minutes

• Failure to document a quorum
• Ambiguous description of board actions
• Including information that could harm the board in a legal sense
• Lengthy delays in providing minutes after a meeting
• Delays in approving minutes from past meetings-missing mistakes
• Failing to file and manage documents
• Failing to get documents signed, so they serve as an official and legal record

Always be mindful that the purpose of taking meeting minutes is to reflect the true intentions of the board and that they are an official and legal record. Given the breadth of detail and complexity of the process associated with proper documentation of meeting minutes and learning to take minutes for a board meeting, many organizations find using  board portal software  helpful. Board portal tools help make this work easier and more efficient, ultimately elevating organizational performance.

As serious as the job is, taking and preparing minutes can also be a rewarding and edifying experience.

Board Meeting Minutes Best Practices

The exact format of board meeting minutes varies by the organization, although best practices for governance indicate that all meeting minutes should contain the basic information we bulleted in Step 2 as noted earlier in Taking Board Meeting Minutes: Step by Step.

Best practices also encourage boards to do the following:

• Obtain information from the board president about attendees, guests and any speakers or special presentations.
• Review the past meeting’s minutes and gather any documents for the meeting.
• The board secretary and board president should concur on the agenda and finalize it.
• Be consistent in the method of reporting so that the information is reliable.
• Carefully document any decisions the board makes.
• Document any next steps the board needs to take.
• Keep your statements short and concise.
• Utilize the minutes to track action items and follow-ups.

What Should Not Be Included in Meeting Minutes

Not everything should be included in nonprofit board meeting minutes. The wrong entries could pose problems for boards later on.

These are some of the things board secretaries should leave out of board meeting minutes:

• Abbreviations, acronyms, and jargon unless the meaning is obvious
• Judgmental comments
• Personal observations about members at the meeting
• Notes about personal arguments
• Statements with political undertones
• Exact discussions where lawyers gave legal advice
• Words of praise

As noted previously, board meeting minutes serve as legal records in a court of law. Discussions, comments, and direct quotes by board members could someday be taken out of context or be misinterpreted in court hearings. In the event of a lawsuit, the opposing counsel will be looking for weaknesses detailed in board meeting minutes. Too much information can lead  to legal risks .

Board Meeting Minutes Legal Requirements

Governance for nonprofits falls under state laws. Each state has its own mandates for registering a nonprofit. In most states, nonprofit boards are required to take and record board meeting minutes. It is best to store meeting minutes with other books and records.

States do not list requirements for how nonprofits must take minutes. Board secretaries routinely rely on best practices for meeting minutes as standard practice for recording meeting minutes properly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How detailed should meeting minutes be.

It is not appropriate to record everything board members say at a meeting. Minutes should only summarize the major points of a meeting relative to the board’s actions and decisions.

When Should Board Meeting Minutes Be Distributed?

Board meeting minutes should be distributed as soon as possible after the meeting so board members have sufficient time to review them and make corrections before voting to approve them. BoardEffect streamlines the process of getting minutes distributed and approved, as it all happens electronically.

What Is the Purpose of Board and Shareholder Meeting Minutes?

The purpose of board meeting minutes is to record motions, decisions and key discussions in connection with the board meeting agenda.

Who Should Take Minutes at a Board Meeting?

Any board member can take board meeting minutes, although it is typically the responsibility of the board secretary.

How Do Boards Approve Minutes at a Board Meeting?

At the start of a board meeting, boards must approve meeting minutes for the previous meeting. A unanimous consent vote must approve minutes.

Preparation for Board Secretaries: Using a Board Meeting Template

The board secretary and president should agree on the board minutes’ content. They should also decide what to leave out to protect the board and its directors from legal liabilities.

Board secretaries can prepare for meetings by reviewing formats of past meeting minutes and using templates for sample board meeting minutes. Templates will have areas to fill in pertinent information, such as the date, time, and regular agenda items, with flexibility for adding new items. It helps to review formats for nonprofit board meeting minutes that other organizations have used successfully.

Before each meeting, the board secretary will need to obtain information from the board president about attendees, guests, and any speakers or special presentations. The secretary will also want to review the past meeting’s minutes and gather any documents for the meeting. Finally, the secretary will work with the board president to set and solidify the agenda.

Some Final Words About Board Minutes

Templates and formats are essential tools for board secretaries. Why not use them to take much of the work from  recording board minutes ? A good rule for minute-takers is recording a statement for every board action to avoid being overly wordy.

Hopefully, your board meeting minutes will never be evidence in a court of law. If they are, however, using these tools, your board can rest assured that the minutes accurately reflect board business.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE?

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Starting a cloud recording

Cloud recording is automatically enabled for all paid subscribers. When you record a meeting and choose Record to the Cloud , the video, audio, and chat text are recorded in the Zoom cloud. The recording files can be downloaded to a computer or streamed from a browser.

Need to catch up on a long meeting or webinar? Smart Recording allows you to get the key takeaways in a quick and digestible format through recording highlights, and identify action items to take after the meeting or webinar with next steps.

Cloud recordings can be started on the desktop clients, as well as the Zoom app  on iOS and Android . Zoom also offers local recording , which saves the recording files to your computer. Cloud recordings allow you to record the meeting in multiple different recording layouts including active speaker, gallery view, and shared screen, and can be configured with a variety of cloud recording storage options.

After a cloud recording has finished processing, you can view, managing, and share cloud recording . If you're having issues with cloud recording, see our frequently asked questions about recording .

This article covers: 

Limitations for cloud recording

Cloud recording processing times, how to start a cloud recording, prerequisites for starting a cloud recording.

• Licensed user on a Pro, Business, or Enterprise account
• Cloud recording enabled
• Cloud recording settings selected as desired Note : These settings will affect what's displayed in the cloud recording and the recording layouts .
• Zoom desktop client for Windows, macOS, or Linux:  Global minimum version  or higher
• Zoom mobile app for Android or iOS:  Global minimum version  or higher
• Zoom Web App
• Accounts with added HIPAA security may have this feature disabled entirely. Please contact your Account Executive regarding enabling this for your account.

Cloud recordings do not capture  nonverbal feedback or meeting reactions .

• Cloud recordings cannot be embedded on websites, in order to protect the security of the recording.
• Pausing a cloud recording does not create a separate file, but stopping a recording and starting a new cloud recording does create a new file.

Cloud recordings generally take about 2 times the duration recorded to process, but occasionally may take up to 24 hours due to higher processing loads at that time.

For example, an hour long meeting with only 30 minutes recorded would typically take 30 to 60 minutes to process.

Note : You can review this article if your recording is still being processed after 48 hours.

Only hosts and co-hosts can start a cloud recording. If you want a participant to start a recording, you can make them a co-host or use local recording . Recordings started by co-hosts will only appear in the host's list of recordings in the Zoom web portal.

To record a meeting to the cloud manually (you can also start your cloud recording automatically ):

• Start your instant or scheduled meeting as the host.

• Select Record to the Cloud to begin recording. Note : If you are muted, a Recording Alert pop-up window will appear indicating You are muted .

• Once the meeting has ended, the recording must be processed before viewing.
• If enabled in email notification settings, Zoom will send an email to the host's email address when the process is completed. There will be two links in the email, the first will be for the host, only to manage the recording. The second link will be for the participants. 
• Once you stop the recording, you don't need to remain in the meeting for the recording to process.
• Follow the cloud recording troubleshooting steps if you're having issues finding or sharing a cloud recording.

Learn more about how to manage your cloud recordings:

• Download, share, or delete cloud recordings
• Trim the playback range of a shared recording

• Entertainment
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Federal Reserve minutes: Officials saw inflation slowing but will monitor data to ensure progress

Christopher Rugaber

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve officials concluded earlier this month that inflation was steadily falling and agreed to closely monitor incoming data to ensure that the pace of price increases would continue slowing toward their 2% target, according to the minutes of their meeting released Tuesday.

As a result, the policymakers decided to leave their key benchmark rate unchanged but to keep it elevated for an extended period. Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell kept the door open for another rate hike, though most economists say they think the central bank is done raising rates.

The officials agreed at the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting that they would raise their key rate again if incoming economic data “indicated that progress” toward the 2% target “was insufficient,” the minutes said. That suggests that inflation would need to shift into a higher gear for the Fed to raise rates again.

The central bank's decision to keep its key short-term rate unchanged for the second meeting in a row amounted to the longest pause in its rate-hiking campaign since it began jacking up rates in March 2022. The Fed has lifted its benchmark rate 11 times since then from nearly zero to about 5.4%, the highest in 22 years.

The minutes released Tuesday suggested that the Fed's policymakers hope to see forthcoming data confirm that inflation is headed back toward their target level. With signs indicating that price pressures are cooling, Wall Street investors think the Fed could start cutting its key rate as soon as May, according to the CME Fedwatch Tool .

Fed officials expect that future economic data will “help clarify the extent to which” inflation kept falling, “demand was moderating" and “labor markets were reaching a better balance between demand and supply," the minutes said.

Still, the policymakers “stressed that they would need to see more data indicating that inflation pressures were abating" to be sure that inflation was headed back toward their 2% target.

Chair Jerome Powell expressed some optimism at a news conference after the Nov. 1 meeting. He said “we're making progress” in taming inflation, though he acknowledged that such progress would come “in lumps and be bumpy."

Inflation has tumbled since its peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.2% last month. October’s report also showed that core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, cooled from September to October and suggested that inflation is continuing to decline.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Fed gave no indication of possible rate cuts at last meeting, minutes show

Federal Reserve officials at their most recent meeting expressed little appetite for cutting interest rates anytime soon, particularly as inflation remains well above their goal, according to minutes released Tuesday. 

The summary of the meeting , held Oct. 31-Nov. 1, showed that Federal Open Market Committee members still worry that inflation could be stubborn or move higher, and that more may need to be done.

At the least, they said policy will need to stay "restrictive" until data shows inflation on a convincing trek back to the central bank's 2% goal.

"In discussing the policy outlook, participants continued to judge that it was critical that the stance of monetary policy be kept sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to the Committee's 2 percent objective over time," the minutes said.

Along with that, however, the minutes showed that members believe they can move "proceed carefully" and make decisions "on the totality of incoming information and its implications for the economic outlook as well as the balance of risks."

The release comes amid overwhelming sentiment on Wall Street that the Fed is done hiking.

Traders in the fed funds futures market are indicating virtually no probability that policymakers will increase rates again this cycle, and in fact are pricing in cuts starting in May. Ultimately, the market expects that the Fed will enact the equivalent of four quarter percentage point cuts before the end of 2024.

No mention of cuts

However, the minutes gave no indication that members even discussed when they might start lowering rates, which was reflected in Chairman Jerome Powell's post-meeting news conference.

"The fact is, the Committee is not thinking about rate cuts right now at all," Powell said then.

The fed's benchmark funds rate, which sets short-term borrowing costs, is currently targeted in a range between 5.25%-5.5%, the highest level in 22 years.

The meeting occurred amid market worries over rising Treasury yields, a topic that appeared to generate substantial discussion during the meeting. The same day, Nov. 1, when the Fed released its post-meeting statement, the Treasury Department announced its borrowing needs over the next few months, which actually were a bit smaller than markets had anticipated.

Since the meeting, yields have receded off 16-year highs as markets digest the impact of heavy debt-fueled borrowing from the government and views over where the Fed is headed with rates.

Officials concluded that the rise in yields had been fueled by rising "term premiums," or the extra yield investors demanded to hold longer-term securities. The minutes noted that policymakers viewed the rising term premium as a product of greater supply as the government finances its huge budget deficits. Other issues included the Fed's stance on monetary policy and views on inflation and growth.

"However, they also noted that, whatever the source of the rise in longer-term yields, persistent changes in financial conditions could have implications for the path of monetary policy and that it would therefore be important to continue to monitor market developments closely," the minutes said.

Economic growth to slow

In other business, officials said they expect economic growth in the fourth quarter to "slow markedly" from the 4.9% increase in Q3 gross domestic product. They said that risks to broader economic growth are probably skewed to the downside, while risks to inflation are to the upside.

As for current policy, members said it "was restrictive and was putting downward pressure on economic activity and inflation," the minutes said.

Public remarks from Fed officials have been split between those who think the central bank can hold here while it weighs the impact that its previous 11 hikes, totaling 5.25 percentage points, have had on the economy, and those who believe more increases are warranted.

Economic data also has been split, though generally favorable for inflation trends.

The Fed's key inflation indicator, the personal consumption expenditures price index, showed core inflation running at a 3.7% 12-month pace in September. The number has improved considerably, dropping a full percentage point since May, but is still well above the Fed's target.

Some economists think getting inflation down from here could be tricky, particularly with wage increases running strong and more stubborn components such as rent and medical care elevated. Indeed, so-called sticky prices rose 4.9% over the past year, according to an Atlanta Fed gauge.

On employment, perhaps the most critical factor in getting inflation lower, the jobs market is strong though moderating. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 150,000 in October, one of the slowest months of the recovery, though the unemployment rate has climbed to 3.9%. The half percentage point increase of the jobless rate, if it persists, is commonly associated with recessions.

Economic growth, after a robust first three quarters in 2023, is expected to slow considerably. The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow tracker is pointing to growth of 2% in the fourth quarter.

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Readout of President Joe   Biden’s Meeting with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of   China

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. today held a Summit with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in Woodside, California.  The two leaders held a candid and constructive discussion on a range of bilateral and global issues including areas of potential cooperation and exchanged views on areas of difference. 

President Biden emphasized that the United States and China are in competition, noting that the United States would continue to invest in the sources of American strength at home and align with allies and partners around the world.  He stressed that the United States would always stand up for its interests, its values, and its allies and partners.  He reiterated that the world expects the United States and China to manage competition responsibly to prevent it from veering into conflict, confrontation, or a new Cold War.

The two leaders made progress on a number of key issues. They welcomed the resumption of bilateral cooperation to combat global illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking, including synthetic drugs like fentanyl, and establishment of a working group for ongoing communication and law enforcement coordination on counternarcotics issues. President Biden stressed that this new step will advance the U.S. whole-of-government effort to counter the evolving threat of illicit synthetic drugs and to reduce the diversion of precursor chemicals and pill presses to drug cartels.

The two leaders welcomed the resumption of high-level military-to-military communication, as well as the U.S.-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks and the U.S.-China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings.  Both sides are also resuming telephone conversations between theater commanders.

The leaders affirmed the need to address the risks of advanced AI systems and improve AI safety through U.S.-China government talks.

The two leaders exchanged views on key regional and global challenges.  President Biden underscored the United States’ support for a free and open Indo-Pacific that is connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient.  The President reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to defending our Indo-Pacific allies.  The President emphasized the United States’ enduring commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight, adherence to international law, maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea and East China Sea, and the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula .

President Biden reaffirmed that the United States, alongside allies and partners, will continue to support Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression, to ensure Ukraine emerges from this war as a democratic, independent, sovereign, and prosperous nation that can deter and defend itself against future aggression.  Regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, the President reiterated U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism and emphasized the importance of all countries using their influence to prevent escalation and expansion of the conflict.

President Biden underscored the universality of human rights and the responsibility of all nations to respect their international human rights commitments. He raised concerns regarding PRC human rights abuses, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong.  On Taiwan, President Biden emphasized that our one China policy has not changed and has been consistent across decades and administrations.  He reiterated that the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, that we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, and that the world has an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.  He called for restraint in the PRC’s use of military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait.  President Biden also raised continued concerns about the PRC’s unfair trade policies, non-market economic practices, and punitive actions against U.S. firms, which harm American workers and families.  The President emphasized that the United States will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our own national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment. 

The President again emphasized that it remains a priority to resolve the cases of American citizens who are wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China.  

The two leaders reiterated the importance of ties between the people of the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and committed to work towards a significant further increase in scheduled passenger flights early next year, in parallel with actions to restore full implementation of the U.S.-China air transportation agreement, to support exchanges between the two countries. The two leaders also encouraged the expansion of educational, student, youth, cultural, sports, and business exchanges.

The two leaders underscored the importance of working together to accelerate efforts to tackle the climate crisis in this critical decade.  They welcomed recent positive discussions between their respective special envoys for climate, including on national actions to reduce emissions in the 2020s, on common approaches toward a successful COP 28, and on operationalizing the Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s to accelerate concrete climate actions. President Biden stated that the United States stands ready to work together with the PRC to address transnational challenges, such as health security and debt and climate finance in developing countries and emerging markets.

Building on the November 2022 meeting in Bali where they discussed the development of principles related to U.S. – China relations, the two leaders acknowledged the efforts of their respective teams to explore best practices for the relationship.  They stressed the importance of responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship, preventing conflict, maintaining open lines of communication, cooperating on areas of shared interest, upholding the UN Charter, and all countries treating each other with respect and finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully. The leaders welcomed continued discussions in this regard.

The two leaders agreed that their teams will follow-up on their discussions in San Francisco with continued high-level diplomacy and interactions, including visits in both directions and ongoing working-level consultations in key areas, including on commercial, economic, financial, Asia-Pacific, arms control and nonproliferation, maritime, export control enforcement, policy-planning, agriculture, and disability issues.

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