According to some sources , it was first used in that sense in the early 18th century. In some unique instances, taking meeting minutes may be required by law, for example during disciplinary meetings with employees or legal disputes. However, in most cases, whether to take notes is entirely up to you. Minutes provide a written record of what was agreed at a meeting and create a shared understanding of the outcomes.
They are an important source of information allowing participants to reflect on what happened. A written record is the best way to avoid misunderstandings stemming from people having different recollections of the meeting. They notify people of tasks assigned to them and create clear timelines to keep everyone on track. They create clarity about what the next steps are and who is responsible for what, making sure no action items are forgotten.
They act as a source of information for members who were unable to attend. They allow participants to go back and revisit the key ideas and discussion points that led to a decision. Without a clear record, it is easy to forget why a certain decision was made.
In the worst case, you may end up having to repeat the meeting and have the same discussions all over again. In the past, minutes would be shared with the participants as an email attachment.
Some companies still disseminate meeting notes the same way. However, this approach has many downsides. The meeting notes are hard to organize and can easily get lost in your inbox. Getting input from participants and revising the record requires multiple email loops. There is no easy way to follow up on assigned tasks.
Today, most companies have better tools at their disposal. Internal wiki tools, such as Nuclino allow companies to organize and collaborate on their minutes much more efficiently:. As mentioned above, there are essentially five steps involved with meeting minutes: Pre-Planning Record taking - at the meeting Minutes writing or transcribing Distributing or sharing of meeting minutes Filing or storage of minutes for future reference.
Pre-Planning Meeting Minutes: A well-planned meeting helps ensure effective meeting minutes. What Is the Agenda of a Meeting? Motions taken or rejected Items to be held over New business Next meeting date and time You can find more templates and details on formatting meeting minutes here.
Tips that might help your note taking: Create an outline — as discussed earlier, having an outline or template based on the agenda makes it easy for you to simply jot down notes, decisions, etc.
If you are taking notes by hand, consider including space below each item on your outline for your hand-written notes, then print these out and use this to capture minutes.
Check-off attendees as they enter the room - if you know the meeting attendees, you can check them off as they arrive, if not have folks introduce themselves at the start of the meeting or circulate an attendance list they can check-off themselves. Record it — literally, if you are concerned about being able to keep up with note taking, consider recording the meeting e. Meeting Minutes Template: Here's a simple template you can refer to next time you need to take meeting minutes.
Meeting Minutes Sample: Still wondering if you're taking notes correctly? Here are some tips that might help: Try to write the minutes as soon after the meeting as possible while everything is fresh in your mind. Review your outline and if necessary, add additional notes or clarify points raised. Also check to ensure all decisions, actions and motions are clearly noted. Avoid personal observations — the minutes should be solely fact-based If you need to refer to other documents, don't try to summarize them.
Rather, simply indicate where they can be found or attach them as an appendix. Online sharing The method of sharing or distribution will depend on the tools that you and your organization use. Sharing in the Cloud?
Tools Specifically For Meeting Minutes: If you are wondering about the types of tools you might use specifically for meeting minutes, here are some tools that organizations we've worked with have found helpful: Google Docs: Also supports collaborative note taking. If you send out a meeting request using Google Calendar, you can attach a Google doc agenda outline. Once minutes are crafted using the outline , you can simply share the document with the group using their email addresses.
Also support audio recording with corresponding note time-stamping. Lucid Meetings: Fantastic meeting-tool to automate your meeting processes like notes, attendance, and organization. Evernote : Great note taking tool.
Agreedo : supports creation of meeting minutes and tracking the results. If You're a Nonprofit with Regular Board and Member Meetings If you're a nonprofit with regular board and member meetings and you want to save time and money managing your organization, get a free trial of WildApricot , an all-in-one membership management software which allows you to: Easily schedule online events with instant online payment processing and automated invoices.
Create a stunning website with online member applications. Access an easy-to-search and filter contact database. Table of contents What is a project outline. Nobody loves meetings at Slite. So we put together a simple, actionable, step-by-step guide to help you write effective meeting minutes. What are meeting minutes? They make meetings more efficient Meeting minutes can help avoid endless discussion and back-and-forths because they make things more efficient.
They outline the meeting's structure As a general rule, a meeting leader should never go into a meeting without a precise plan outlining what needs to be discussed. Keep everyone up to speed You can simply send meeting attendees a copy of the relevant meeting minutes and they can bring themselves up to speed right away. Avoid forgetting about important topics Meeting minutes ensure that nothing gets forgotten in your meetings.
Improves client relationships Meeting minutes can be great accountability tools for clients. Meeting purpose Every meeting should have one central goal. Agenda items Great meeting minutes should include all the agenda items that were addressed at a meeting.
Next meeting date and place At the end of the meeting, your team should determine how long it will be until everyone needs to meet again. If anything is unclear, speak up and ask for clarification right away so you won't have to poke around after the meeting. Don't leave room for ambiguity. Only capture essential points. Write down the main decisions and action items concisely, and be sure not to miss any. You'll always have time to go back to your notes when wrapping-up after the meeting if you wish to add some more details.
Post a job. Find resumes. Help Center. Find Jobs. Post a Job. Post a Job Are you a job seeker? Find jobs. The basics of effective meeting minutes Meeting minutes document the most important points discussed during a meeting. These tips can help note-takers get started: Note the important details Keep it simple Format notes after the meeting Have notes reviewed Distribute to your team 1.
Note the important details Here is a list of important information that note-takers may wish to include in meeting minutes: Subject of meeting Location if relevant Date and time Attendees Agenda items Status of action items Date and time of the next meeting Expected actions from teammates by the next meeting Items to be discussed during the next meeting 2.
Keep it simple Keep notes clear and simple: Create or use a template for regular meetings Note participants as soon as they join the call or enter the meeting room Write notes in a simple manner instead of trying to keep up word-for-word Ask for repetition or clarification if necessary Record the discussion with your phone or meeting software if appropriate 3.
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