What are meeting minutes?
Meeting minutes, also known as meeting notes or meeting templates, are basically the summary of everything that happened at a given meeting. Regardless of the size of the meeting or the matter(s) being discussed, meeting minutes help keep all attendees on track. They also provide an official record of important details for those who were unable to attend.
...Meeting minutes or it didn't happen, am I right? 😉
Formal meeting minutes are more important than ever as more and more team meetings are being brought online. 💻 We're all familiar with how long and aimless Google hangouts can be without some structure. Meeting minutes can help you avoid that!
Meeting notes vary depending on the situation, but most include variations of the following:
- Key details. Formal meeting minutes templates refer to this as the call to order. Here, basic information such as the date, time, location, team and/or organization name, attendees present and not present, and the board of directors is noted.
- Approval and/or modifications of the previous meeting's minutes.
- A list of agenda items to be addressed. Agenda items are often assigned to specific presenters or teams and given an estimated time slot. 🕚
- A list of decisions made.
- A list of action items or motions to be taken.
- Unfinished business, follow-ups, and items to be held over until the next meeting.
- Any announcements or new business to be noted. 💬
- Adjournment and the scheduling of the next meeting.
What can meeting minutes do for me?
You won't realize how useful meeting minutes are until you try them. Give them a shot because...
- You'll increase efficiency. A productive meeting is a good meeting, right? No one likes meetings that drag on without direction, and meeting attendees will be more motivated to attend meetings and participate actively if they feel that their time is being used effectively. 👏
- You'll have an official record of your organization's most important news, projects, and decisions that can be easily referred back to and circulated. Many organizations use meeting notes at board meetings, project meetings, committee meetings, and annual meetings for this reason.
Pro Tip: Remember, meeting minutes can be useful at informal meetings and simple meetings as well. ✅
- It's all about delegation. Meeting notes help save lots of time in terms of task management! Task delegation is woven into the fabric of meeting notes, which ensures that all team members do their part and are aware of their roles. 👍
- People will be better informed. It's easy to catch people up on the happenings of missed meetings with meeting minutes to refer back to. Attendees can also refresh their own memories by referring back to meeting notes at their convenience.
Slite's free meeting minutes template
Many organizations simply aren't motivated to invest time into putting together an effective meeting minutes template. Don't make that mistake! Your initial effort will pay off tenfold in the future. 💃🏻
Slite's here to make your life easy. Our free meeting minutes template will help you put together effective meeting notes for your organization in no time. We'll help transform your meetings into streamlined, efficient, and actionable work sessions that your team members look forward to attending.
How can I get started?
Start customizing your meeting minutes template by:
💡 Thinking About What Your Typical Meetings Look Like
Meeting minutes will only be truly effective if they're well-suited to your organization's needs. Reflect on your previous meetings or past meeting agendas. Ask yourself questions like: "What agenda items do we typically cover?" This should help inform your meeting notes template.
💭 Considering Your Organization's Most Important Meetings
Reflect on your organization's most important meetings and consider what makes them important. These will be the kinds of meetings that should absolutely be recorded using a meeting minutes template. Does your organization make key decisions at your annual meeting? What about your monthly meetings? Your Board of Directors meetings?
📝 Establishing Key Players
Note down the key people that are usually part of your organization's most important meetings. This will likely include attendees such as your Board of Directors, where applicable.
Pro Tip: This is a good time to decide if you're going to make one person responsible for note-taking and meeting minutes in general. Some organizations also choose to make this a rotating position.
...voila! You're well on your way to putting together highly effective meeting minutes. Get ready to take organized, real-time notes by filling in your template at your next meeting! 🙏
