How to Write Meeting Minutes: Everything You Need to Know

Minutes of meetings reflect what goes on at the meeting by highlighting the decisions made, the items of action and the key points discussed. Minutes are prepared by a designated person, often referred to as the minute-taker or secretary, either during or immediately after the meeting. The best meeting minutes should offer brief and result-oriented details about the meeting rather than the discussion that takes place in the meeting. Meeting minutes should include date of the meeting, participants, decisions made and owners of action items. It is important to distribute the minutes of the meeting within 24 hours for better coordination within the team.

What Are Meeting Minutes?

Definition of Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes are the summaries of the proceedings of the meeting. They do not include transcripts of meetings but rather summaries of the meetings that include the purpose of the meeting, people who attended the meeting, the discussion at the meeting, the decisions made, and action plans. They are like snapshots of the meeting that will be easily understood in a moment by anyone who could not attend the meeting. The word "minutes" does not come from "time," but from "Latin minuta scriptura," meaning small notes.

Why Meeting Minutes Are Important

Meeting minutes help transform the discussion into documentation. Without minutes, the decisions would be forgotten, the tasks would remain undone, and there would be quarrels about what was actually said weeks ago. A written document will help everyone verify the information without referring to memory. This is particularly important for those teams that work in different time zones and remote settings, when not everyone can be present during the discussion. Some quick minutes taken after the meeting would free the minute taker from answering the same questions again and again and managers from solving the misunderstandings between the participants regarding agreements reached.

Who Is Responsible for Writing Meeting Minutes?

Usually, the responsibility lies with a secretary, an assistant, a project coordinator or even just some willing participant. In small groups it can be done in turns bywho takes on the task of note-taking should be able to listen actively while typing, and shouldn't be the facilitator of the discussion, as taking detailed notes and moderating a discussion simultaneously is quite difficult. The note-taking process in more formal meetings such as board meetings is usually included in the company's charter and the same person is always the note-taker from meeting to meeting.

Why Every Business Needs Meeting Minutes

Keeps Everyone on the Same Page

The immediate circulation of minutes allows everyone who was absent from the discussion to be immediately briefed on everything discussed and to avoid any questions like "So, what did I miss? "

Improves Accountability

It is much more difficult to evade one's duties once they are stated clearly and signed off. In other words, minutes are a record of who said what and who promised to do what.

Creates an Official Record

Minutes are used for board meetings and meetings with clients or in any other cases when some issues have legal or financial importance.

Tracks Decisions and Action Items

Meetings sometimes yield far more decisions than you might think. The minutes keep an ongoing record, ensuring no information is forgotten from one meeting to the next.

Supports Compliance and Audits

Many business sectors need proof that certain meetings were held for one reason or another, regardless of the topic being discussed. Whether it’s a safety review, budget, or policy change, the minutes serve as the proof.

What to Include in Meeting Minutes

Minutes always adhere to a particular format. At least, they should have:

• Meeting Details – date, time, location or platform, and meeting type
• List of Attendees and Absentees – who was present, who joined late, and who could not make it
• Meeting Agenda – the topics that were planned for discussion
• Key Discussion Points – a brief summary of what was talked about under each agenda item
• Decisions Made  – the outcome of each discussion, stated clearly
• Action Items and Owners  – specific tasks paired with the person responsible
• Deadlines and Follow-Up Tasks – when each action item is due
• Date of the Next Meeting – in order that all participants know when the next meeting will take place

If any of these items is left out of the minutes, it means that at some point of time somebody will need to get missing data. Thus, there will be no sense in keeping minutes of the meeting at all.

How to Write Meeting Minutes Step by Step

Prepare Before the Meeting Starts

Prepare the agenda and create the template divided into several parts beforehand. The knowledge of the agenda gives an opportunity to write down minutes more easily without sorting everything out afterwards. As well as writing down the names of the participants in advance, because during the meeting it can be hard to spell the correct names when all people have started to discuss the issues.

Follow the Meeting Agenda

Follow the agenda and take the minutes according to it. Write minutes under each item and not in one big chunk. If the conversation is going off the agenda, make a separate note about it.

Record Important Discussions

It is not necessary to write down everything. What is important are the key issues, any differences in opinion that may be there, and what prompted a decision to be taken. Do not use quotations but paraphrase unless quoting is essential.

Document Decisions Clearly

The decisions have to be clearly stated by using plain language. Vagueness is never good, like “budget was discussed,” but “the budget of $5,000 for Q3 for marketing was approved” is better.

Assign Action Items

Action items must have their owners and deadlines. No action will ever get performed without a name assigned to it, which is why it is one of the most crucial stages of the entire process.

Review and Edit Your Notes

After the meeting is over and while things are still fresh in the mind, go through and polish your notes by improving the wording, deleting anything irrelevant, and checking the names and figures.

Share the Minutes Promptly

It is best to distribute minutes within 24 hours. The more you delay in doing so, the less value they hold since everyone moves ahead in their jobs.

Best Meeting Minutes Format

Simple Meeting Minutes Format

The list format is appropriate for small and informal team meetings. This format generally includes the date, participants, topics discussed, and action items.

Formal Meeting Minutes Format

This type of format has more structure like number of agenda, motions and voting (if any), and formal signature. This format is used for committees and human resource meetings, where formal proceedings are involved.

Board Meeting Minutes Format

Minutes of board meetings consist of the name of the meeting, confirmation of quorum, motions with the name of proposer and seconding members, and result of the vote. Such minutes are considered legal documents.

Project Meeting Minutes Format

Minutes of project meetings include much information about progress reports, roadblocks, and follow-up actions related to project deadlines. They also include the project plan.

Best Meeting Minutes Software and Tools

Depending on how your organization operates, it may be more convenient for you to use software that is integrated into an existing workflow. There are solutions for those who prefer to keep everything within the chat application, solutions for those who like using separate notes tools, as well as software that automatically transcribes audio to text. Here are some of the most common options.

Troop Messenger

This is a communication platform that provides a number of features at once including chat, video calls, and file sharing which allows writing down the minutes of a meeting and sharing it all within the same discussion.

Microsoft Teams

Teams has a feature for making minutes of meetings and can connect to the OneNote that will allow keeping minutes near the recording of the meeting and the chat.

Notion

It is useful for those who need to have their minutes attached to other project databases, tasks, and wikis.

ClickUp

This solution allows creating trackable tasks out of minutes of the meeting.

OneNote

OneNote is an extremely versatile digital notepad that can be very helpful for people who prefer taking notes in a free-form manner using sections and pages.

Free Meeting Minutes Template

Instead of drafting the minutes from scratch, you should always have a prepared template and just fill in the gaps. There are several popular templates that will suit different occasions.

Basic Meeting Minutes Template

Includes information about date, participants, agenda, discussion, decisions made, and action items. Can be used as a universal solution.

Team Meeting Minutes Template

Also includes a section where everyone can update on their current situation. Useful for stand-ups and sprint review meetings.

Client Meeting Minutes Template

Provides space for requests of the client, deliverables, and dates for further communication.

Project Meeting Minutes Template

Designed in such a way that everything depends on the project milestones, potential risks, and blockers.

Meeting Minutes Example

Sample Team Meeting Minutes

Minutes from a team meeting could state that the design update had been examined, two mock-ups had received feedback, and the designer would make revisions on them by Friday.

Sample Project Meeting Minutes

Minutes from a project meeting could state that the server migration was two days late, and the reason for this was the problem with the vendor, and the team lead would escalate it.

Sample Board Meeting Minutes

Minutes from a board meeting could state that the motion to expand the marketing budget was put forward, it was seconded, and the motion passed with 6 in favor and 1 against, and the finance director made note of the numbers.

Best Practices for Writing Meeting Minutes

• Focus On Important Information – ignore unnecessary small talk and irrelevant discussion during the meeting
• Use Clear and Simple Language – use simple language that is clear even to people who did not attend the meeting
• Be Objective and Accurate – write down facts rather than your own impression of how the meeting went and how people reacted
• Bullet Point Action Items – action items become very easy to scan, allocate and tick off when complete
• Proofread Your Minutes Before Distribution – even a quick proofread can save you from embarrassing mistakes in front of the rest of the team

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even the most experienced note-takers make a number of typical mistakes that you need to be on the lookout for.

Writing Every Conversation

The attempt to include everything makes minutes difficult to understand and long-winded. You only need to jot down outcomes and points.

Missing Important Decisions

When a decision is not included in the minutes, it did not really happen. Make sure to always include all decisions.

Forgetting Action Items

An action item without an owner or deadline tends to get forgotten. Always pair tasks with a name and a date.

Delaying the Distribution of Minutes

Waiting too long to share minutes reduces their value, since the details fade from everyone's memory and momentum is lost.

Using Inconsistent Formatting

Switching formats between meetings makes it harder for people to find information quickly. Stick to one template across meetings of the same type.

Free and Open Source Meeting Minutes Software

Budget-friendly and restricted in their data practices teams might look into open-source tools that allow hosting the software themselves. This way, you get more control over where the minutes of your meetings are stored.

OpenProject

Open-source project management solution with room for storing meeting notes linked to specific tasks within the project.

Etherpad

Simple and lightweight real-time collaboration text editor good for quick and simple note-taking while the meeting is in progress.

CryptPad

Encrypted and privacy-centric real-time collaborative document editor suitable for teams requiring additional safety measures for the meeting notes.

Nextcloud Office

Document editor and storage solution that is a part of Nextcloud suite.

ONLYOFFICE Docs

Open source office software with collaboration tools that are well-suited for structured meeting minutes templates.

LibreOffice

A free and feature-rich office suite that is okay to use for teams who do not want to use cloud-based software.

AppFlowy

A free and open source productivity software similar to Notion, which can be used by teams to create links between minutes and other tasks.

Wiki.js

A self-hosted wiki application that is free to use and great for storing and organizing meeting minutes for a very long time.

Tips for Improving Meeting Documentation

A few simple practices done consistently have a much greater impact on effective meeting documentation than any particular tool or template ever could.

Standardize Your Templates

If you use the same template for every meeting, you will make it easy for others to know where exactly the needed information can be found.

Use Digital Collaboration Tools

Shared documents and specialized applications will prevent version confusion and enable multiple participants to write their minutes simultaneously.

Keep Minutes Secure

Do not store sensitive minutes, for instance, board or HR-related, in a folder where everyone can have an access.

Archive Meeting Records

Create a searchable archive with previous minutes to make sure that everyone will be able to refer to the previous discussion without spending much time finding the relevant emails.

Review Previous Meeting Minutes

Begin your meeting by briefly reviewing the minutes from the previous one to ensure that all the action items had been done and no issues had been missed.

Conclusion

Meeting minute writing does not require special efforts and can be done in an hour. Just focus on documenting decisions, action items, and distribution of minutes, and your team will avoid unnecessary repetitions and misunderstanding. No matter if you use a simple template or a special tool such as Troop Messenger, Notion, or Fellow, the main goal is always to create actionable minutes after every discussion. Once you get used to writing and distributing them, your meetings will become much more effective.

FAQ's

1.What are the five most important things to include in meeting minutes?

The five elements include meeting information, participants’ names, key discussion points, results of the decision-making process, and action plans. The absence of any of these five leads to confusion in the future because sooner or later someone will need the missing element to find out his task or to understand the outcome of the discussion. The use of these five elements in minutes of every meeting helps to simplify the work with previous minutes.

2.How long should meeting minutes be?

The minutes of a meeting should be as brief as possible, but should include all the important information about the meeting. In case of one-hour meeting, the minutes cannot exceed the page in length. The main thing is not to add everything in minutes, but to write down only the decisions, owners, and deadlines.

3.Should meeting minutes include opinions or just facts?

Minutes should include only facts and outcomes, but not opinions of participants. It means that you should note the person who made a suggestion and what decision was accepted. Minutes must be unbiased to become useful documentation that could be reviewed at any moment in time in case of necessity, especially when minutes will be examined in terms of compliance, audits, or disputes concerning decisions.

4.Who should approve meeting minutes before they are shared?

If the meeting is a formal one, including board meetings and so on, the minutes must be examined by a meeting chair or the board during the next meeting. If the meeting is an ordinary one, a fast examination by the meeting leader can be enough.

5.Can meeting minutes be used as legal documents?

Minutes can have the character of a legal document in certain cases, for example, when the meeting is a board meeting or a meeting of shareholders and so on. This explains the importance of precision, objectivity, and prompt examination of minutes in formal context.