Writing Meeting Notes
Overview
Turn raw notes/transcript into a structured, skimmable record that makes next steps unambiguous.
When to Use
- Notes are messy, partial, or out of order
- A transcript exists but no one will read it end-to-end
- There were decisions, open questions, or action items to track
When NOT to use
- The meeting is purely social with no decisions or follow-ups
Core Pattern
Separate “what happened” from “what’s next”:
- Summary (context)
- Decisions (committed outcomes)
- Action Items (owner + due date)
- Open Questions / Risks (unresolved)
Quick Reference
Use this template:
- Attendees:
- Context: (1–3 bullets)
- Decisions:
- Action Items: (each item has Owner, Due, Next step)
- Open Questions / Risks:
Implementation
- Scan for explicit decisions (“we will…”, “agreed…”, “we decided…”).
- Extract actions (“X will do Y by Z”) and assign owners if missing (flag if unknown).
- Promote unresolved items into Open Questions / Risks.
- Keep it concise; link to source transcript if needed.
Common Mistakes
- Burying action items in narrative text — always list separately.
- Inventing owners/dates — if absent, mark as “Owner: TBD” / “Due: TBD”.