How To Write Meeting Minutes (With

Templates and Examples)

Indeed Editorial Team
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.

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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]
o [main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
o [main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
o [main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
 [agenda item 2]
o [main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
o [main idea discussed in relation to agenda item]
o [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

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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

o Written scripts for new commercials and radio spots
o Designed graphics for digital ads and social media posts
 Goals of campaign
o Increase online store traffic 33%
o Boost engagement on social 42%
o Spend under $5 acquiring each new lead

Next steps:

 Shoot the commercials

o Obtain location permits
o Hire camera crew
 Develop strategy in collaboration with sales team
o 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

o Incorporate company values and culture into team-building
activities
o Design and order items with the company logo, e.g. t-shirts or
hats
  Determine which new markets to target
o Countries: China, New Zealand
o Demographics: teenagers, pet owners, professionals who work
at coffee shops
 Finalize the budget for next quarter
o 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.