No one can remember every single detail from a meeting. Queue meeting minutes: a way for you to transcribe all points discussed. If you’re writing meeting minutes for the board chair or your manager, you have an important task ahead!
Think of it like this. Meeting minutes act as a reminder for all members present. It’s like taking notes, but they need to be detailed. If you miss any detail (and we mean any), members will get confused, and you won’t have done your job.
If you want to know how to write meeting minutes that will be detailed and helpful for the participants of a meeting, then check out our article below. We go through all the tips and tricks of how to best take advantage of your time in the meeting and take down notes that will be concise and helpful for everyone.
Image from Unsplash
What Are Meeting Minutes?
Meeting minutes are a comprehensive written record of everything that happens during a meeting. They include everything from the key points discussed to actions assigned to a designated employee.
These documents serve more than one purpose. Think of them as providing a reference for any future meetings to make sure everyone stays accountable. They help maintain an official record for organizational or even legal purposes.
Minutes should be clear and concise. They need to reflect the essence of the meeting accurately. Usually, meeting minutes are assigned to employees like secretaries or administrative assistants. According to the Harvard Business Review, executives may spend 23 hours a week in meetings. Hence, the staff that is taking notes will probably do the same.
Therefore, it is essential to be as detailed as you can when taking minutes but ensure you do not spend too much time on parts of the meeting that may not be important.
Image from Unsplash
Why Are Meeting Minutes So Important?
Meeting minutes are crucial for keeping a business functioning and there are several reasons why they are important during board meetings.
They’re an official record of what happened in the meeting. Members will refer back to them when they need to jog their memory. These minutes will cover who is assigned to what task so no one is unclear about what’s expected of them. Sometimes, meeting notes act as legal evidence, proving what the business’s decisions and actions were at the time.
They help in tracking the progress of projects and ensuring that action items are completed on time. They also provide a way for people who missed the meeting to catch up on decisions that were made without them. You can make your life easier by using tools like AI summarizers to take notes during a meeting but ensure you proofread those notes first before handing them in for approval.
Image from Unsplash
How To Take Meeting Minutes
Before you start taking any notes, you always should prepare well before the meeting. You also need to have an idea of the meeting purpose to write down effective meeting minutes. Below we go through some tips on what you need to do before, during, and after a meeting, including ways to save time during this whole process.
1. Prepare for the Meeting
When you find out the meeting date, you should start preparing thoroughly. Talk to the meeting leader to discuss what’s expected of you.
Examine Previous Meeting Minutes
Reviewing previous meeting minutes helps you understand the format, style, and level of detail required. It also gives you context for the ongoing discussions and helps identify any unresolved issues that might be addressed.
Review the Meeting Agenda
You should be given a meeting agenda before you attend. This normally provides you with a list of things to be discussed. You’ll likely also get an overview or the order of the things that are going to be discussed. Study it so that you can predict how the meeting will go and get ready to take down notes.
Gather All the Documents You Need
Ensure you have all the necessary documents, such as reports, supplementary documents, and any materials provided by the speakers. Having these at hand will help you understand the discussions and take accurate notes.
Set Up Recording Devices
Record the meeting using either a recording device or a smartphone if you can. This will act as a fallback to assist in filling any voids when transcribing your notes.
2. What To Do During the Meeting
Taking down minutes of a meeting can be very demanding. Notably, you are making an instant transcription of what is being said. Here is the procedure that should be followed right from beginning to end.
Record Key Details
Begin by noting:
- The date and time
- The location of the meeting
- The names of attendees and absentees
All of this information is crucial for context and reference.
Document All Discussions and Decisions
Capture the essence of each discussion, including the main points, differing opinions, and any decisions or resolutions. Be sure to note any motions, who proposed them, and the outcomes. This is particularly important in a board meeting where official decisions are made.
3. Take Effective Notes
Use abbreviations or shorthand notes to keep pace with the discussion. Avoid being too brief because this will affect your writing flow! Concentrate on getting the key messages and conclusions across rather than attempting to reproduce every word.
Moreover, identify action items and due dates. Observe the meeting structure to make sure all vital points are noted down.
Roll Call and Introductions
Note the roll call if it’s a regular part of the meeting procedure. Record the names of all meeting attendees and any introductions made by the meeting leader.
Agenda Items and Talking Points
As the meeting progresses, follow the agenda closely. Record discussions under each agenda item, including talking points and key issues raised. This helps maintain a clear and organized document for meeting minutes.
Identify Action Points and Assignments
Clearly document any action points, including who is responsible for each task and the due date. This ensures that all meeting participants know their responsibilities.
4. Arrange Your Notes After the Meeting
Once the meeting is finished, you need to start compiling all your documents so they are easy to view. Let’s take a look at what you should do.
Transcribe and Organize All Your Notes
Immediately after the meeting, change your notes into a coherent and systematic document. In this way, you will always remember all the details without making any mistakes. When doing this job, MS Word or Google Docs may be used.
Review and Revise
In order to ensure the factualness and comprehensibility of the minutes, try to read them through again. Also, make sure that they are easy to read and understand. They can’t be verbose but need to include all relevant points. Therefore, examine any audiotapes available for crosschecking purposes where necessary.
Incorporate Feedback
If you have any questions or need clarifications, reach out to the meeting leader or other participants. This ensures that your meeting minutes are accurate and complete.
5. Approve and Distribute Meeting Minutes
Once you’ve finished your meeting minutes, you have to get the approval of board members. This needs to be done before the next meeting starts.
Presenting Minutes for Approval
To get the minutes approved present them to your manager or whoever was in charge of the meeting. You need to do this before the next meeting. This is an opportunity for people to suggest corrections or additions. Ensure that the minutes are approved before proceeding to new business.
Recording Approval
Once the minutes are approved, note this in the new meeting minutes document. This official record of approval is important for maintaining accurate meeting history.
6. Send Out Final Meeting Minutes
Now, all that’s left is to send out your finalized meeting minutes to the right people!
Share With All Meeting Participants
Once you have approval, distribute the final minutes to all participants. This can be done via email, an internal document management system, or an online sharing platform.
Store and Archive Meeting Minutes
You may record the minutes in a way that they can be easily retrieved whenever needed, perhaps as a digital archive or physical file according to your organization’s needs. This is important for future reference and compliance.
Online Sharing and Cloud Storage
Using cloud storage solutions like Google Docs makes meeting minutes easily accessible to all relevant parties. This also facilitates quick updates and collaboration if needed.
FAQs
What should I include in my meeting notes?
Your notes from the meeting need to always include:
- Date and time, location, names of attendees
- Agenda items, a summary of key discussions, and decisions made
- Action items, next meeting date, and ending time of the meeting
Should meeting minutes be a verbatim record?
Don’t make meeting minutes a verbatim record. Instead, they should paraphrase the main points and decisions taken during the meeting. The aim is to capture what was discussed in essence and any actions that arose as a result, but not necessarily with every word transcribed. This saves time and makes the minutes briefer and more readable.
How soon should I prepare the minutes after the meeting?
Just after the meeting, try to have your minutes ready. You should aim to do this within a day or two. This is important because it would help keep them up-to-date and accurate. You need to be able to easily give them to the participants, facilitating quick follow-up on action points.
Are there legal requirements for meeting minutes?
Meeting minutes may be required by law, depending on the nature of your business. Corporate board meetings must sometimes keep minutes to meet corporate governance rules. So it is important that you understand and comply with any relevant local by-laws or legal obligations.
Get Help Transcribing Meeting Minutes With Smodin AI
Transcribing meeting minutes can be a daunting task, especially if the meeting is long and detailed. Smodin AI offers a solution to this challenge. The Summarizer tool can help you accurately capture and organize meeting minutes. This works by saving you time and reducing the risk of errors.
With Smodin AI, you can focus on participating in the meeting rather than worrying about missing important details. Sign up to Smodin today to make your life that little bit easier!
The abstract is the shop front of your thesis. It’s essentially a summary of your paper outlining what you have discovered during your research.
In academia, an abstract serves several purposes:
- Offers a summary of your findings
- Other researchers use it to determine whether your work is relevant to their own research
- Helps your peers understand what you have discovered if they don’t have time to read the entire paper
- Provides an easy way to index and categorize papers for academic journals
So a good abstract has several benefits for readers and reviewers. But, beyond that, you need to know how to write a good abstract if you want to get a high grade.
In our article, we give you some of the best tips and tricks on how to write an abstract that is concise and informative.
Step 1 – Understand the Purpose of an Abstract
Before you learn how to write an abstract, you need to know what one is and what purpose it serves. A good abstract should answer these questions:
- What is the study about?
- Why did you do this study or project?
- What did you do and how?
- What were your findings?
- What do your findings mean?
Think of an abstract like a movie trailer. It gives the reader a glimpse–a teaser–of what’s to come. It helps them decide if your paper is something they’re interested in.
Usually, an abstract is 100-250 words, so you only have a small window to rope your audience in.
There are four types of abstracts. You might use a different one depending on the nature of your research paper. The different kinds of abstracts include:
- Informative abstract: Details the background information, key points, research methods, and significant findings. There may also be further reading recommendations so that the reader can understand the main elements of the paper better.
- Descriptive abstract: Provides an overview of the content, including major points and research methods. However, descriptive abstracts don’t provide significant findings or conclusions. So, they’re less helpful for determining the relevance of the work.
- Critical abstract: Evaluates or provides analysis regarding the paper’s findings, with an overview of the paper. These abstracts are longer, sometimes up to 500 words in length. They may also refer to outside information.
- Highlight abstract: Grabs the reader’s attention to hook them in. Academic writing doesn’t usually include this type of abstract, since it doesn’t really give an overview of the text.
Typically, you’ll only see the first two in academia, but a descriptive abstract is still rarer than an informative one. An informative abstract includes everything you need to know about a research paper. So, it’s the preferred method for most students.
Step 2 – Key Elements of an Abstract
Every good abstract page has certain elements, including the background, methodology, results, and conclusion. It may also include keywords listed at the end of the abstract, helping to categorize and index the paper.
Here’s everything you need to include in your abstract.
Background and Objective
The first part of the abstract should cover the background information for your central idea. Whether you’re studying social sciences or writing a scientific paper, this section is absolutely crucial. It’s the opening line that sets the tone for your entire dissertation.
You can usually do this in around three sentences. Here is what each one should include:
- Sentence 1: Introduce the topic and define the key concepts in your study.
- Sentence 2: Define the gap in the literature, describing the main existing theories and identifying their limitations.
- Sentence 3: Explain how your research will fill this gap in the knowledge and what it adds to your field.
You can also state your research question at this point. Of course, you’ll need to do a literature review to write this effectively. So, check out other abstracts and ensure you use a good sentence structure.
Example: “Climate change poses significant challenges for worldwide agricultural productivity. Despite the numerous studies that exist on its impact on crop yields, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis. Other articles do not study how these impacts vary across different climactic regions. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the regional differences in climate change effects on wheat production.”
Methodology
Next, you can outline the specific details of your project, summarizing the methodology you intend to use. At this point, you can also outline the data, theories, and case studies that you used during your research.
Generally, this can be just a single sentence highlighting your methodology. However, it can vary greatly depending on your field. For example, in scientific writing, you might need to describe the materials you’re using in the study. Meanwhile, for social sciences, it’s likely to be more theory-based.
Example: “I conducted a meta-analysis of existing studies on wheat production under varying climatic conditions. I collected data from peer-reviewed journals published between 2000 and 2023. I used statistical methods to assess the impact of temperature and precipitation changes on wheat yield.”
Results
The next part of your abstract should state your main point. Remember, the abstract is just a brief summary, so you don’t need to go into detail. Instead, summarize all the main arguments that your paper makes and state their contribution to the field.
Even if you feel like your main findings are significant, don’t go into too much detail yet! That comes later, in the paper itself.
Example: “The results indicated a significant negative correlation between increased temperatures and wheat yields in arid and semi-arid regions. The average yield reduction was 15%. Conversely, in temperate regions, moderate temperature increases were associated with a slight yield increase of 5%. Precipitation changes had less consistent effects across different regions.”
Conclusion
The final part of your abstract should provide a strong conclusion. Here, you can discuss the implications of your main findings. Often, you can also incorporate key words found within the abstract and write these in a list at the end. This makes your paper easier to index.
Example: “These findings suggest that climate change adaptation strategies for wheat production must be region-specific. In arid regions, efforts must focus on heat-resistant crop varieties and improving irrigation. Meanwhile, temperate regions may benefit from optimizing planting dates and crop management.
Keywords: Climate change, wheat production, regional analysis, agricultural adaptation, crop yield.”
Step 3 – Writing the Abstract
Now that you understand what an abstract is, you can master the art of writing one. Here are Smodin’s top tips when writing an abstract.
Write a Draft
Start by writing a draft, and don’t put too much emphasis on it being perfect. Make sure your draft includes all the key elements (background, methods, results, conclusions).
Ensure that your draft provides a clear and concise summary of your research, outlining your major findings.
Revise for Clarity and Conciseness
Once you have a draft, you can start to edit and improve it. At this point, you can start to pay more attention to the word count. It’s time to cut out the unnecessary parts and improve clarity.
You should focus on making your abstract as succinct as possible while retaining the essential information. Remember, the abstract is just one paragraph, so you might need to be quite harsh in cutting bits out.
Check for Accuracy and Consistency
Finally, check for accuracy. You’ll need to ensure that the abstract accurately reflects the main ideas in the paper. Don’t mention anything you haven’t talked about in the paper!
You should also check that all the terminology and data are correct. Getting this wrong isn’t just unprofessional, but it could lose you marks!
Step 4 – Formatting the Abstract
Depending on where you’re submitting your paper, there may be a publication manual. This is certainly the case if you’re submitting a journal article. However, your college or university might also have guidelines that they use to standardize abstracts.
It’s important to follow the format that the journal or institution provides. This includes sticking to the word count (decrease or increase the number of words if necessary) but also following the specific format. For example, many journals in the social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering sciences use the IMRaD structure:
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- and
- Discussion
Tips for Writing a Compelling Abstract
Want to know how to write an amazing abstract? Not just a good one, but one that’s going to get you the best grade? Here are five tips that will guarantee success.
- Be concise: It’s crucial to be brief. Potential readers don’t want to know all the details just yet. Remember, it’s only a paragraph long! Make sure you use clear and straightforward language throughout.
- Highlight key points: Your abstract should describe the main findings of your abstract, including a range of key phrases. Emphasize these aspects, and ensure that readers understand the significance of the study.
- Avoid jargon: The abstract should be accessible to a broad audience. So, minimize the use of technical terms and acronyms.
- Focus on the reader: It’s important to focus on things that the reader needs to know. The abstract should help them understand the research that comes later. Try to spark their interest without providing too much information.
- Try reverse outlining: You can write the abstract at the end. As you write the rest of the paper, jot down a sentence for each major finding. Then, use these to piece together an abstract at the end.
Use Smodin To Write Effective Abstracts
Abstracts are important, so getting them right is a concern for many students. After all, they’re a crucial component that summarizes your research and hooks the reader. In some cases, an abstract is essential for winning you research grants.
Fortunately, you can make writing an abstract easier by using Smodin. Smodin’s AI writer can assist in crafting well-structured, comprehensive abstracts. Here are some of its key capabilities:
- Advanced language processing
- Customizable input parameters, to make the abstract your own
- Comprehensive coverage of key elements
- Keyword generation
Beyond its amazing generative capabilities, Smodin can improve efficiency and save you time! Whether you want it to generate the full text or just the abstract, Smodin helps you on your academic journey. And because it’s trained on academic data, it’s much better than similar generative AI models.
Smodin’s AI Writer offers a powerful solution for researchers looking to create effective abstracts. It can significantly enhance the quality and efficiency of your academic writing. So what are you waiting for? Try Smodin’s AI writer today!
An executive summary is a shorter version of a longer document. This could be a business document, research report, project proposal, or business proposal.
An executive summary highlights the major points and key findings of an entire document at a glance. Think of it as a project overview that can be particularly useful for busy reviewers who want to grasp a project’s objectives quickly.
A well-written executive summary should feature the most important details of a document. These include the project plan, major findings, recommendations, and conclusions. Keep reading below if you want to know how to write an executive summary that will be both helpful and engaging for your audience.
5 Key Elements of an Executive Summary
Here are the key points you must include in executive summaries. These are essential as they will help your management team understand the crucial information you include in your project.
1. Purpose Statement
In this section of an executive summary, you need to be brief about why this document exists. This part tells the readers about the research’s chief aim or scope.
Remember to write clear and concise sentences regarding the main objective of the report or research paper and give a short overview of what the full report aims to achieve.
Example: “The objective behind this report revolves around market potential analysis for launching an eco product line. It also includes strategic guidelines for success.”
2. Background Information
Providing background information lets the reader understand what factors necessitate a project. This encompasses anything historically noteworthy. You might also want to include any previous studies that may have taken place before the publication of the report.
In this section, you should describe briefly the context in which the study has been conducted and provide some historical details where applicable.
Example: “The company embarked on this study due to growing customer demand for sustainable products. It aims to explore market opportunities and competitive advantages within the eco-friendly sector.”
3. Major Findings
This part will deal only with significant findings from your inquiries or projects. Including this section is essential for your readers because they won’t need to go through your project findings.
You need to outline the results from the research you’ve conducted.
Example: “After our market analysis, we found that there is a significant demand for eco-friendly products. The market share rose by 15% over two years and customers are ready to pay more for sustainable options.”
4. Recommendations or Implications
Outline the main recommendations or implications based on your research. These assist readers in comprehending how research can be applied in practice as well as what should be done next.
Remember to create a brief catalog of key recommendations or implications from findings and justify each recommendation or implication made.
Example: “We will introduce the new product line with environmentally friendly packaging and advertise it on ecological grounds. We will certainly benefit by partnering with suppliers who are eco-friendly and responsible.”
5. Conclusion
The conclusion should emphasize the study’s importance and restate its main points before ending the executive summary. Through the conclusion, you offer the reader closure and state why your findings and recommendations are useful.
The conclusion is crucial because through it you can create a lasting impression on the reader and help them understand the purpose of the study in the first place.
Steps to Writing an Effective Executive Summary
If you want to write an executive summary that is concise and includes essential information that your readers need to know, you must first consider certain factors. We have outlined some of them below.
Step 1 – Know Your Target Audience
Identify the people who will be reading your executive summary. Personalize the information to meet their academic or professional interests. Think about what will be of interest and relevance to them.
Step 2 – Begin With Purpose
Begin with a brief, precise statement explaining why you have written this document. This will set up the remainder of your report. You need to let the reader know exactly what you mean by starting off strong.
Step 3 – Give Some Background Information
Give some important background details, but don’t go into excessive explanations. This contextualization is necessary for any research or project, and it should explain why it was conducted in the first place. Keep it on point and relevant to what brought about the study.
Step 4 – Emphasize Main Findings
Outline the main findings of your investigation briefly. Use bullets or numbers for easier understanding. The latter should give a quick overview of the main outcomes that were discovered.
Step 5 – Present Recommendations or Consequences/Implications
List the implications of your findings. Explain each one without overloading readers with unnecessary details. These enable readers to comprehend how applicable the outcomes of your research are to real-life situations.
Step 6 – Wrap It Up Well
Finish off well with a good conclusion for your summary. Reinforce the significance and implications of the research work undertaken before making final remarks on its usefulness in general terms.
A good conclusion leaves a mark in the mind of the reader and emphasizes invaluable insights from your findings.
How To Make Your Executive Summary More Engaging
There are several ways you can make your executive summary more engaging for your audience. Remember that the purpose of an overview is to provide important information that is to the point but at the same time it must have a good flow and include the main ideas of your report or project.
Below we offer you some advice on how to make your executive summary more compelling.
Keep It Short and Sweet
Make sure all critical points are covered without emphasis on unnecessary details while ensuring clarity is achieved within brevity. Avoid using complicated sentences and ensure your writing has a good flow. You don’t want to alienate readers from the outset.
Use Clear and Simple Language
Write in clear and professional terms. Keep all summaries simple so that people who do not know anything about the subject matter can comprehend its content. Clarity is essential for successful communication.
Focus on the Main Ideas
Stick to the main points of the research. Avoid getting into details that do not matter at all for one to comprehend it as a whole. Focusing only on vital information will keep the audience engaged and attentive.
Make It a Self-Contained Document
The executive summary should be able to be read without necessarily referring to the entire report. It should provide enough detail and context to stand alone as a complete piece of work. If the reader is busy, this will come in handy. It needs to be a speedy but accurate guide that gives them all they need to make decisions.
Example of an Executive Summary
Here’s a sample of a well-written summary. To make your life a little bit easier, you can use this as an executive summary template.
- Purpose statement: This business plan outlines how a new line of eco-friendly household cleaning products may be launched. It seeks to pinpoint market opportunities, evaluate financial prospects, and offer recommendations appropriate for launching this product successfully.
- Background information: There’s a growing consumer awareness of environmental matters. Because of this, there’s more demand for sustainable home cleaning products. Based on market research there is a significant void in the eco-friendly segment.
- Major findings: For instance, the demand for earth-friendly cleaning products will grow by 20% annually. Some consumers are even willing to spend up to 25% more on environmentally friendly goods.
- Recommendations or implications: The product line should be launched with an emphasis on sustainability and effectiveness goals. This necessitates running a marketing campaign that elaborates on products’ environmental benefits as well as economic worthiness. Creating partnerships with eco-friendly suppliers also ensures a steady flow of supplies.
- Conclusion: Finally yet importantly, my market analysis shows that the potential of this product is very high considering its financial projections. Using these strategies will enable this company to benefit from the high demand for green home-cleaning products.
Use Smodin To Write a Professional Executive Summary
If you want your executive summary to be concise and brief but professional, use Smodin’s AI writer. It saves you time and effort while giving you a quality summary that communicates the main points of your document.
Join Smodin today to see how it can help you write effective executive summary reports and more!
