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.
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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.
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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.
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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!