Meeting Minutes Template

Business meetings are necessary for any organization, whether big or small. One way to ensure that your meetings are productive is by having an effective meeting minutes template.
USE THIS TEMPLATE
Informal / Simple Meeting Minutes Template

About the Meeting Minutes Template

Business meetings are necessary for any organization, but they can often be long and tedious. One way to ensure that your meetings are productive and effective is to prepare for them. This includes making sure you have the right tools to take notes effectively. This blog post will discuss how to take meeting minutes like a pro! We'll provide tips on preparing for meetings and taking effective meeting minutes during them.

What Are Meeting Minutes, and How Do They Work?

Meeting minutes are a written record of what was discussed and decided during a business meeting. They ensure that everyone is on the same page and provide a reference point for future decision-making. Minutes should be concise and accurate, and they should include key points from the discussion.
Meeting participants often rely on minutes to remember what was discussed, so they must be well-written and easy to understand. Without the minutes, it cannot be easy to track the progress of a project or make decisions about the next steps.
Effective meeting minutes should have a structure. This includes an agenda of the meeting, the main discussion points, and any decisions made. The minutes should also provide the date and time of the meeting, a list of the attendees, and any action items assigned.

How To Write Effective Meeting Minutes?

Writing an effective meeting minute starts with preparation. You should have a copy of the meeting's agenda. You should also ensure that you have all the necessary tools to take effective minutes. This includes a meeting minutes template.
Once you have everything prepared, you can start taking minutes. Here are a few tips to help you take effective meeting minutes:
  1. Make notes after each topic or take minutes in real-time.
    As a first step, begin by creating an outline of the meeting's contents. Fill in agenda items with more information as soon as you hear it—in real-time.
  2. Be concise.
    When taking minutes, it is essential to be concise. This means that you should only include the most critical information in the minutes. There is no need to write down every single detail of the discussion.
  3. Make sure they're simple enough for a person who wasn't there to comprehend.
    The minutes should be easy to understand, even for someone who wasn't at the meeting. This means you must provide enough context so that the minutes make sense.
  4. Just focus on the facts.
    When writing the minutes, it is essential to focus on the facts. Avoid adding your own opinion or commentary.
  5. Make a list of those who cannot attend.
    If there are people who cannot attend the meeting, include them in the minutes. This will ensure that they know the discussion and can provide input if needed.
  6. Use a meeting minutes template for the correct format.
    To take effective minutes, it is essential to use the correct format. A meeting minutes template can be a helpful tool to ensure that you include all the necessary information in the minutes.

Essential Tips For Taking Effective Meeting Minutes

Taking meeting minutes can be a daunting task, especially if you've never done it before. But with a little bit of preparation and practice, you'll be able to take effective minutes in no time. Follow the tips outlined below, and you'll be sure to take great meeting minutes.
  • Don't Do List: Listing out everything said in a meeting can be tedious and time-consuming. A better way to take minutes is to focus on the key points made. This will help you save time and capture all the essential information from the discussion.
  • How to take notes faster: One way to take effective minutes is to learn to take notes faster. This means that you should focus on writing down the most important information from the discussion. To do this, you can use abbreviations and symbols. This will help you write down the information quickly without missing anything important. You should also use the meeting minutes template, which will help you format the minutes correctly.

Meeting Minutes Templates

Now that you know how to take effective meeting minutes, you might wonder what should be included in the minutes. We've got you covered. We have some meeting minutes templates that you can use to help make taking meeting minutes a breeze! With these templates, you can make sure that you cover all of the necessary information in your meeting minutes without worrying about forgetting anything important.
Below are some examples of meeting minutes templates that you can use for your next meeting.
1. Informal / Simple Meeting Minutes Template
This is a simple and basic meeting minutes template that can be used for informal meetings. It captures the key discussion points and is perfect for short team meetings.
It has to establish the meeting's goals, track the meeting agenda, and keep track of the following steps for any meeting. It also serves as a meeting summary template. In the meeting minutes, you must include this information:
  1. Date & Time of the meeting
  2. List of attendees
  3. Conversation topics
  4. Action items
  5. Assigned tasks
  6. Next meeting date & time
2. Formal Board Meeting Minutes Template
This is a more formal meeting minutes template that can be used for board meetings, large team meetings, or company-wide meetings. It captures the key discussion points and is perfect for more formal gatherings.
It includes all the necessary information that should be captured in meeting minutes, such as the date and time of the meeting, the location, the attendees, and the topics discussed. It also includes a section for action items and next steps. This meeting minutes template is perfect for businesses that need to keep a more formal record of their meeting minutes.
3. Common Meeting Minutes Template
Another template that can be used for meeting minutes is a mind map. This template is perfect for visually capturing all of the critical points of discussion. It's also great for brainstorming sessions or meetings where many ideas are being thrown around.
Compared to a traditional minute-taking technique, mind mapping appears more reasonable and streamlined, with keywords rather than huge sentences and paragraphs. This is how to prepare meeting minutes mind map:
  • Before the meeting, prepare organizational material and a general overview. Much information may be confirmed before a meeting, such as a date, location, topic, and kind of meeting. This also allows the minutes-taker to focus on other aspects of the discussion.
  • Form a reasonable meeting timetable in advance. This will help the meeting flow smoothly and ensure that every topic is given sufficient time for discussion.
  • Take notes on the speaker's main points. Minutes-taker should listen attentively to speakers' remarks and record the key phrases accurately, without error or emotional language appearing during this time. The objective of this procedure is to record everything you see with a prototype.
  • After the meeting, discuss keywords in the blank and reorder the connection. As a minutes-taker, you may find it challenging to explain the whole discussing process at times. As a result, make plans for a free space for notes discussion. The connection should be reorganized following the meeting to understand discussion outcomes.
  • Prepare a meeting minute by recording and arranging tasks. The outcomes of this meeting must be the actions and following studies. Summarize the decisions and set the subsequent activities for future reference.
  • Adjust your mind map to suit the needs of a business. Meeting minutes are stringent in the community. Therefore minutes-taker should alter the overall design and conform to the business format.

Conclusion

Taking meeting minutes is an important task that should not be taken lightly. By following the tips outlined in this post, you will be able to take effective meeting minutes that capture all the essential information from the discussion.
If you are looking for the best meeting minutes template, EdrawMind is the perfect tool for you. With EdrawMind, you can easily create professional-looking meeting minutes with just one click. Choose from one of the many templates available and start customizing it to fit your needs. The Outliners feature is more user-friendly than Microsoft Office and can be used to create Gantt or mind maps.
What are you waiting for? Get started today and take better meeting minutes!