What are meeting minutes?

How are minutes different from notes or a transcript?

Each record does a different job. Minutes are the one other people rely on, because they pull the outcomes out of the conversation.

• Rough notes help the note-taker remember what happened.
• A transcript records every spoken word.
• Minutes record the decisions, actions and open questions.

What goes in meeting minutes

Atlassian's meeting-minutes template is a good starting point for team meetings. It covers meeting details, agenda topics, a short summary of the discussion, decisions, and actions with owners and deadlines.

Formal bodies work differently. The Robert's Rules of Order FAQ says minutes record what was done at a meeting, not what was said. It also sets its own process for approving and correcting them. If your group follows rules like these, use that process instead of a team template.

Record the outcome when it becomes clear

Say a team is picking a date for a customer workshop. Several dates come up, and one person says Thursday might work. That is not yet a decision. Ask the group to confirm before you write it down.

A clear entry might read: “Workshop date: Thursday 22 October, if the venue confirms. Maya will confirm the room by Tuesday 13 October. If it is unavailable, the organizer will send two other dates.” It keeps the condition and names the next step.

Keep proposals, decisions and open questions apart

Mark an item as proposed until the group commits to it. For an open question, write who will find the missing answer and when it comes back. “Discuss later” gives nobody anything to do.

If people disagreed in a way that matters, say so. Don't record a unanimous decision while objections remain. You can note that an option was chosen while someone checks a named risk.

• Write down any condition the agreement depends on.
• Ask each action owner to confirm the task and date.
• Keep background detail only when it explains the outcome.

Check the minutes before people rely on them

Before the meeting ends, read the decisions and actions back. People can fix a wrong name, date or reading while it is fresh. Then send the minutes to everyone who needs them and say how to raise corrections.

For a routine team meeting, you might mark the first version “For correction” and set a time for replies. If you later change a key decision, tell the people it affects. Don't quietly rewrite it.

Make the minutes easy to use next time

Give the document a clear meeting name and date, and store it where people will look. Link each action to its working document. At the next check-in, review open actions instead of rereading the whole record.

Here is a simple test. An absent colleague should be able to find the decision, the owner and what is still uncertain. If they can't, tighten the minutes before adding more detail.