Meeting minutes
A meeting minutes template that keeps decisions separate from discussion, with an owner and a date on every action item.
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How to use it well
- →Write decisions as complete, standalone sentences someone can quote in a Slack message six weeks from now - not "agreed on the export thing," but what was actually decided.
- →Keep the discussion section honest instead of tidy - the arguments that didn't win are exactly what a future reader needs to understand why the decision went the way it did.
- →An action item without an owner is a wish. If you can't name one person and one date before the meeting ends, it isn't an action item yet.
Part by part
- ## Decisions
- First, because it is the only section most readers need. Minutes that open with discussion bury the outcome under the process of reaching it.
- ## Action items
- Separate from decisions, since a decision without an owner produces nothing. Each item needs a name and a date to be an action rather than an intention.
- ## Open questions
- What was not resolved. Without this section, unresolved items disappear and resurface as a surprise in the next meeting.
Common mistakes
Transcribing the discussion chronologically.Produces a record nobody reads, where the decisions are scattered through the narrative. Minutes are a summary of outcomes, not a transcript of how they were reached.
Action items with no owner.An action assigned to the team is assigned to nobody. Ownership is the single property that determines whether an item is done before the next meeting.
Sending minutes a week later.By then the decisions have either been acted on or forgotten, and corrections are much harder because memories have diverged. Same day is the standard worth holding.
Questions
How much discussion detail is worth keeping?
Enough to explain why a decision went the way it did, which is what a future reader needs. The back-and-forth that led nowhere can go, and usually should.
Who should write them?
Not the person running the meeting, ideally — facilitating and recording compete for attention. Rotating the role also spreads the understanding of what actually gets decided.
Should attendees confirm the minutes?
For anything consequential, yes. Sending them with a window to correct converts one person's notes into a shared record, which is what makes them citable later.
What if a decision was not really made?
Record it as an open question rather than writing something decisive. Minutes that overstate consensus create the appearance of agreement and the reality of a dispute later.