How To Write Meeting Minutes (With Templates and Examples)
Updated July 31, 2023
Many professionals use a range of methods, such as voice recordings or meeting minutes reports, to help them document what occurs at their meetings. A meeting minutes report can give participants an easy way to remember what happened at a meeting and implement any steps they're meant to take before the next meeting. Knowing how to write effective meeting minutes may help you better organize your notes and determine which topics to include in your report.
In this article, we discuss what meeting minutes are, explain how to write this type of report and provide templates and examples of meeting minutes reports to help you write your own.
What are meeting minutes?
Meeting minutes are written documents that reflect what happened during a meeting. The meeting minutes reports typically focus on the key items discussed during the meeting, any decisions reached and the next steps for individuals or teams to take.
Having meeting minutes reports can make it easier for the meeting participants to recall what happened during the meeting when taking their next step. It can also provide an important record for project or company stakeholders who might not have attended the meeting, but who want to take actions based on what happened during that meeting.
Related: What Is the Importance of Taking Meeting Minutes? (With 12 Templates)
How to write meeting minutes reports
Following are 10 steps that can help you compose an effective meeting minutes report:
1. Make an outline
Prior to the meeting, create an outline by picking or designing a template. Make sure that your template includes different sections, such as for meeting participants or next steps, to help you organize your notes as you take them. Some professionals also find it useful to design an outline by including each item on the meeting agenda. As the meeting occurs, you can then arrange your notes so that each of your points connects to a clear overall topic.
Related: 4 Steps To Organize Meeting Notes (With Tips)
2. Include factual information
Add factual details, such as where and when the meeting takes place. Include a list of the meeting's participants. During the meeting, you can then note on the minutes report which participants arrived, such as by placing a checkmark next to their names.
Related: How To Write a Meeting Agenda: Tips, Template and Sample
3. Write down the purpose
Record the purpose of the meeting as either the meeting title or as a distinct section. Some meetings may encompass a range of ideas and conversations. Including the meeting purpose in your report can help you synthesize the most important topics of conversation.
Related: 12 Best Practices of Effective Business Meetings
4. Record decisions made
Write down any decisions made during the meeting. If these decisions involved a vote, include a tally of how many people voted for each option. You might also want to keep track of how many people voted for options that ultimately the meeting participants didn't decide to pursue. This way, if the rejected or accepted decision becomes a conversation topic at a future meeting, participants can refer back to the minutes report.
5, Compose action items
Create a separate section for actionable items that specific individuals or teams plan to complete prior to the next meeting. Record any dependables, meaning tasks that need to be accomplished before others, or deadlines for these actions. This list of actionable items can help professionals or departments recall their responsibilities once the meeting's concluded.
Related: How To Write a Notice of Meeting Letter (With Example)
6. Add details for the next meeting
Include any additional information relevant to the next meeting. This may include topics you didn't get to discuss at this meeting or that you plan to discuss further at the next one. It might also consist of the next meeting date and time, location or participants.
7. Be concise
Strive to only record the most relevant or crucial main ideas discussed at the meeting. It's okay if your minutes report doesn't capture information related to every minute of the actual meeting. The goal of meeting minutes reports is typically to summarize the meeting for participants to refer back to or for company leaders to receive progress reports.
Related: 28 Tips To Improve Your Conference Call Etiquette
8. Consider recording
Think about recording your meeting with a device, such as a voice recording app on a mobile device. Although you likely don't need to transcribe everything from a recording into your meeting minutes, having a recording of your meeting can be useful if your meeting goes at a fast pace, has many participants or covers an array of topics. With a recording of your meeting, it becomes easier to reorganize or add details to your meeting minutes report after the meeting's over. If you do decide to record the meeting, be sure to get permission from all the meeting's attendants.
9. Edit and proofread
Before you send the meeting minutes to participants or stakeholders, standardize the formatting. For example, if you used a combination of bullet points and numbers to represent the same types of main ideas, switch to using one consistently. As another example, if you find that some sections on your meeting minutes report seem long, you can create additional sections to make this document easier for others to quickly read. Be sure to also fix any slight errors, such as grammatical issues, typos or spelling mistakes.
Related: How to Send an Effective Meeting Recap or Follow Up Email (With Template and Example)
10. Attach supplementary documents
Attach or link to any relevant supplementary documents when you send out the meeting minutes. These supplementary materials may include any documents referenced during the meeting that can help provide your colleagues with a more comprehensive understanding of what happened at the meeting or what actionable items they can perform next. Potential supplementary documents might include KPI reports, updated project schedules or issues logs.
Meeting minutes report templates
Following are two templates that you can use to compose your meeting minutes report:
Template one
Here is a template for a meeting minutes report that encompasses the typical crucial sections for this type of document:
[Title of meeting]
Location: [where you held the meeting]
Date: [day of meeting]
Time: [time of meeting]
Attendance:
[participant - note if they did or didn't show up for meeting]
[participant - note if they did or didn't show up for meeting]
[participant - note if they did or didn't show up for meeting]
Agenda items:
[agenda item 1]
[main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
[main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
[main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
[agenda item 2]
[main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
[main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
[main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
Next steps:
[actionable item]
[actionable item]
[actionable item]
Related: How To Avoid Having Too Many Meetings? (With Tips)
Template two
Following is a template for a slightly more detailed meeting minutes report:
[Title of meeting]
Purpose of meeting: [why this meeting's happening]
Location: [where you held the meeting]
Date and time: [day and time of meeting]
Attendance:
[participant]
[participant]
[participant]
Absent:
[expected participant]
[expected participant]
Review metrics and KPIs:
[progress toward specific metric or KPI]
[progress toward specific metric or KPI]
[progress toward specific metric or KPI]
Action items from the previous meeting:
[step taken since previous meeting and results]
[step taken since previous meeting and results]
[step taken since previous meeting and results]
Agenda items for this meeting:
[agenda item and its main topics of discussion]
[agenda item and its main topics of discussion]
[agenda item and its main topics of discussion]
Additions to the agenda:
[additional subject discussed]
[additional subject discussed]
[additional subject discussed]
Next steps:
[action item to take prior to next meeting]
[action item to take prior to next meeting]
[action item to take prior to next meeting]
Related: 7 Methods for Taking Organized Notes
Meeting minutes report examples
Following are two examples of meeting minutes reports you can use as a model for preparing yours:
Example one
Here's an example of how you might use the first meeting minutes template:
Marketing campaign meeting
Location: Conference Room, CA
Date: April 11th, 2022
Time: 11:30 AM PST
Attendance:
Erin Black -- in attendance
Camden Gregor -- in attendance
Dana Redmonds -- in attendance
Ingrid Bergen -- absent
Beau Vance -- in attendance
Agenda items:
Campaign progress so far
Written scripts for new commercials and radio spots
Designed graphics for digital ads and social media posts
Goals of campaign
Increase online store traffic 33%
Boost engagement on social 42%
Spend under $5 acquiring each new lead
Next steps:
Shoot the commercials
Obtain location permits
Hire camera crew
Develop strategy in collaboration with sales team
For generating and managing new leads from the campaign
Related: How To Write an Excuse Letter or Email for a Meeting (With Examples)
Example two
Following is an example of how professionals can use the second meeting minutes template:
Executive meeting
Purpose of meeting: Facilitate communications between company leaders monthly
Location: Zoom
Date and time: February 22nd, 2022 at 2:00 PM EST
Attendance:
Billy Hamilton
Samantha Thomson
Margaret Howard
Absent:
James Smithers
Review metrics and KPIs:
ROI increased by 5.3% since last quarter
Website traffic up 17.9% since previous meeting
Action items from previous meeting:
Collaborate with marketing director to boost engagement on social media channels — developing new strategy
Hire a sales manager and two new software developers — one developer hired, at final stage of application process for the other two roles
Agenda items for this meeting:
Revise onboarding process for all employees
Incorporate company values and culture into team-building activities
Design and order items with the company logo, e.g. t-shirts or hats
Determine which new markets to target
Countries: China, New Zealand
Demographics: teenagers, pet owners, professionals who work at coffee shops
Finalize the budget for next quarter
Including budgets for events, product development and onboarding initiatives
Additions to the agenda:
Preparations for board meeting
Transferring business data to new platform
Next steps:
Create new sales deck
Implement calendar integrations for various departments
Frequently asked questions
What's the best way to store or archive meeting minutes?
It's often essential to store meeting minutes safely to ensure confidentiality and future accessibility. You can archive records electronically using a document management system or store them as physical files, if necessary.
How long do you retain meeting minutes?
The retention period for meeting minutes is often dependent on the organization's policies and legal requirements. In some cases, you may store them for a specific number of years to meet these standards. It's generally a good practice to keep meeting minutes for a reasonable period of time to ensure historical documentation and reference, even if there are no specific regulations in place.
Who is responsible for taking and archiving meeting minutes?
The responsibility for taking and archiving meeting minutes typically belongs to one person, such as a secretary, an administrative assistant or a rotating member of a company's team. The most suitable person for the role is usually someone who can accurately record and summarize the meeting while actively participating in the collaboration.
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