5 Tips for Writing Good Meeting Minutes

The function of meeting minutes is as much to keep track of the decisions made as to give a direction for action. Minutes that are read, understood and used are what make a meeting worth its time. Here are five practical tips to master the exercise.

1. Preparation is the key to good minutes

One of the key steps in getting good minutes happens before the meeting: the questioning phase. Settle these points in advance so that the writing phase is well defined:

• Who writes? An assistant, a team member, a person from outside the team? Writing the minutes while chairing the meeting is difficult: separate the two roles when possible.
• Who replaces the writer if they cannot attend?
• How long should the minutes be? One page of decisions and actions, or a fuller summary of the debates? Decide on the form before the meeting, not while writing.
• What equipment? A laptop with the template already open, a shared document, or an audio recording to keep track of all the exchanges. If you record, tell participants at the start of the meeting.

The best preparation is to copy the agenda into the minutes template beforehand. Each agenda item becomes a section to complete during the meeting.

2. Write a document everyone can understand

Meeting minutes are a reference document for all members. When writing, think about the people who were absent and those who will read the document later without any context. The agenda, the purpose of the meeting and the main remarks should be mentioned concisely.

• Use short sentences and everyday vocabulary.
• Explain acronyms and internal jargon the first time they appear.
• Give the function of each participant, not just their name.
• Write decisions as facts: "The launch is postponed to 15 May", not "the launch date was discussed".

A simple test: could a colleague who missed the meeting know, after reading the minutes, what was decided and what they have to do? If so, the minutes do their job.

3. Use a predetermined template

From the header to the conclusion, rely on a fixed structure. When the format is always the same, the document makes sense to the reader immediately, and the writer saves time. Here are the elements to include, step by step:

• date and place of the meeting;
• list of participants present and absent;
• agenda: topics discussed and purpose of the meeting;
• decisions made and actions to be taken;
• summary of the most important points;
• reminder of deadlines and date of the next meeting.

Add a review of the actions decided at the previous meeting at the top: it creates continuity between meetings and makes everyone accountable. You will find a complete layout in our meeting report template, and the wording for each section in our template for writing meeting minutes.

4. Take care of the form for a readable report

To make your minutes easy to circulate, make them pleasant to read. Form is not a detail: well-presented minutes are read, a dense block of text is skimmed or ignored.

• Space out your headings and give each agenda item its own heading.
• Use bulleted lists rather than long paragraphs.
• End with a summary table of actions: what, who, by when.
• Highlight the title and key words, especially decisions, so they are easy to remember.
• Limit yourself to two fonts and keep the same layout from one meeting to the next.

Our article on the content and formatting of meeting minutes goes into more detail on layout.

5. Find the right time to write the minutes

Write the minutes immediately after the meeting, or within 24 to 48 hours. Beyond that, the task becomes tedious: memory fades, the order of the discussions blurs and notes become hard to interpret. Minutes sent a week later also arrive after the actions should have started.

• Block a time slot in your calendar right after the meeting, dedicated to writing.
• If you recorded the meeting, use the recording to check a point, not to transcribe everything.
• Have the chair approve the minutes quickly, then send them the same day if possible.

Checklist before sending your minutes

After the minutes: follow up the actions

Following these five tips, you will write useful minutes. Keep in mind the function of the document and neglect neither the content (agenda, decisions, actions) nor the form (structure, simplicity for the reader). The last step is the one that gives the minutes their value: following up the actions until they are done, and reviewing them at the next meeting.

That is where many teams lose time, copying actions from one document to another and chasing owners by email. In Perfony, actions decided in a meeting go directly into a shared action plan, with their owner and deadline, and appear at the start of the next meeting. For the full method, see our guide to meeting minutes.