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

1. Scan for explicit decisions (“we will…”, “agreed…”, “we decided…”).
2. Extract actions (“X will do Y by Z”) and assign owners if missing (flag if unknown).
3. Promote unresolved items into Open Questions / Risks.
4. 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”.