What Meeting Minutes Should Include

  • Header: Meeting name/purpose, date, time, location (or “Video call”)
  • Attendees: Names of people present. Note apologies (invited but absent).
  • Agenda items: Brief summary of what was discussed for each item
  • Decisions: What was agreed, approved or resolved — clearly stated
  • Action items: What needs to be done, who is responsible, and by when
  • Next meeting: Date, time and location if confirmed

How to Take Minutes During the Meeting

  1. 1

    Prepare a template in advance

    Set up a document with the header information and agenda items already filled in before the meeting starts. This means you only need to fill in what was discussed and decided — not type everything from scratch while trying to listen.

  2. 2

    Focus on decisions and actions, not conversation

    You do not need to record everything that was said. Capture what was decided and what needs to happen next. If two people debated an issue for 10 minutes, the minutes should record the conclusion (“The team agreed to proceed with Option B”), not the debate.

  3. 3

    Record action items precisely

    Every action item needs three things: what needs to be done, who is responsible (a specific person, not “the team”), and when it is due. “Sarah will send the updated proposal to the client by Friday 13 June” is a good action item. “Follow up with client” is not.

  4. 4

    Ask for clarification in the meeting

    If you are unsure what was decided or who is responsible for an action, ask before the meeting ends: “Just to confirm — James, you’re taking the lead on the proposal and the deadline is end of next week?” This is far better than distributing incorrect minutes.

After the Meeting

  1. 5

    Distribute within 24 hours

    Send minutes to all attendees and any relevant stakeholders while the meeting is fresh. Email is standard — or add to a shared document in Google Docs, Notion or Confluence if your team uses those. Late minutes are less useful and reduce trust in the process.

  2. 6

    Begin next meeting by reviewing previous action items

    The most useful thing you can do with minutes is start the next meeting by reviewing whether previous action items were completed. This creates accountability and makes the minute-taking effort worthwhile.

Sample action item formatCreate a table with columns: Action | Owner | Due Date | Status. This makes action items easy to scan and track across multiple meetings by updating the Status column (“In progress”, “Complete”, “Overdue”).

Frequently Asked Questions

Ideally not the meeting facilitator — it is difficult to run a meeting and take accurate notes simultaneously. A designated note-taker (rotating among team members) works well. For very important meetings, consider asking someone whose primary role is to capture rather than participate. AI tools (Microsoft Copilot in Teams, Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai) now automatically transcribe and summarise meetings, which is useful for creating a first draft of minutes.
Yes, in corporate contexts. Board meeting minutes and AGM minutes are legal documents in Australia under the Corporations Act. For company board meetings: minutes must be kept for at least 7 years, approved and signed by the chairperson. For general workplace meetings, minutes are not typically legal documents but serve as an important record for accountability and dispute resolution. Company secretaries or governance professionals should be consulted for formal board minute requirements.