Everything you Need to Know About Meeting Notes & Meeting Minutes? (Plus 15 FAQ’s)

There are two meanings of meeting notes depending on who you ask. Let’s understand it. Meeting notes are sometimes called meeting minutes. Both are written records of a meeting, but meeting minutes are a formal method. Both have their place in meetings and are important to have.

When you have a one-on-one meeting or a casual group meeting then meeting notes will suffice. Meeting minutes are formal and used for important meetings such as company board meetings, Project meetings, problem-solving, and company initiatives meetings. Take meeting minutes for these types of meetings as a clear record of what was agreed to do and the context behind it.

Your meeting notes do not have to have the twelve elements of meeting minutes instead have about six of them. There is no clear best practice for meeting notes as it is a summary of a meeting. However, the more elements you include in your notes the closer it becomes to meeting minutes. There are three elements that you must include.

Meeting Notes

Record your meeting notes on any kind of notebook or electronic platform. It must have the flexibility to write and note these three elements.

1. Meeting Particulars

1. Meeting particulars include the date, time, and who was in your meeting. It is important to place a date format that will not confuse you in the future. Stay away from a written date such as 10/10/24 as you will not know if you wrote it in the form of month/date/year or date/month/year.

2. Bullet point discussion notes

Make sure you note the discussions in the form of bullet points. It is a good idea to summarize the discussion that took place within each topic. An example of how to do this is shown below:

Topic 1
Discussion Point 1
Discussion Point 2

Action Item 1
Action Item 2………………..

Topic 2
Discussion
Point 1
Action Item 1………………..

Making your notes in this format allows you to easily know by the start of indentation what has been recorded. This method allows you to write in a notebook or electronic platform easily.

3. Action Items & Responsible Personnel

Action items are assigned tasks in your meetings that are to be completed. It is assigned to someone or a group in your meeting. Include the name of the responsible person or group assigned to each task.

More Information: Guide to Action Items: Boost Meeting Efficiency and Follow-up

Summary of meeting notes

Take meeting notes or meeting minutes because of the forgetfulness curve. We know from studies that human beings forget more than they think as shown in the diagram above. After 31 days from the meeting people only remember approximately 10% of the meeting.

A good way to know if meeting notes or meeting minutes should be done is if you need to send out an agenda. If you need to send an agenda to attendees then you likely need to take meeting minutes.

Take meeting notes in formal meetings where meeting minutes are being taken by someone else. This is to make sure that the minutes reflect what you have noted.

Meeting Minutes:

Meeting minutes are for important meetings where the outcomes matter to your company. You must use these 12 elements to create meeting minutes.

1. Date & Time

Your meeting minutes must include the date of the meeting, the time it will take place, and length of time. Record this detail as it will be used as a reference to recall the meeting in the future.

2. Location/venue

Your meeting location is another important detail to record in your minutes for reference purposes. You may want to place the address if it is in an unfrequented location by the meeting attendees. Place the name of the room in it as well if there are many meeting rooms in the location.

3. Meeting Length

Include the actual length of the meeting. This may be different than the proposed length of the meeting as sometimes meetings will conclude in a shorter than expected time. And sometimes may go over the scheduled length as well.

4. Participant names

Have the names of all meeting participants and absentees who were invited but didn’t show up to the meeting in your meeting minutes. This is an important element so that there is no confusion in the future as to whom attended the meeting.

5. Assigned Roles

Meeting minutes have three key roles, and depending on the meeting importance, number of people in the group, and requirements, it is necessary to assign these three roles as follows:

I. Facilitator

The facilitator is usually the meeting organizer, who also takes meeting minutes. Actively being involved in whiteboard exercises or meeting activities will prevent the facilitator/organizer from being the note-taker.  In such circumstances assign the role of notes taker to someone in the meeting.

II. Timekeeper

The timekeeper role is important and needed when there is a tight agenda. Assign the role to someone in the meeting. Especially when there are many tasks or topics to complete. The timekeeper is responsible for keeping topics or activities to an agreed time for each topic or activity. In very formal meetings the timekeeper may have dedicated times for a topic introduction, discussion, and summaries by each meeting participant.

III. Notes Taker

The notes taker or meeting minutes taker is the person responsible for accurately creating a written record of the meeting. Your note-taker is responsible for having all twelve elements of the minutes recorded for future reference. Look below for an easy way to record meeting minutes in my insider tip.

6. Absences

Include all personnel that were invited but didn’t attend in your meeting minutes.  The names of the personnel are for future reference. Send the meeting minutes to all invitees, along with all attendees after the meeting has concluded.

7. Meeting Purpose

Make your meeting purpose clear and concise. Participants will not confused and hesitate to participate with a clear meeting purpose. Do this before the meeting agenda is sent out to invitees. Place the meeting purpose in the meeting minutes. Do this for reference purposes.

8. Meeting topics & discussions

The agenda that you sent out before the meeting should include the topics or general activities that will be discussed or done respectively. Record each topic and summarize points throughout the discussion. For formal meetings such as company board meetings include the names of the individuals that made such points throughout the discussion. It is not necessary to do it verbatim, instead can be done in point form.

9. Meeting Outcomes & agreements

Meeting outcomes are derived from the topics discussed. These are agreements that will form the action items and next steps. Outcomes are a logical conclusion made by the group or meeting facilitator. Note the agreements. In formal or important meetings such as a company board meeting, record who in the group voted for or against a proposed initiative or next steps.

10. Meeting Action Items

Record the actions that have been proposed out of the activities, discussions, and agreements. Assign a responsible person or group to complete each action item. The best practice is for you to also include the due dates for each action item.

More Information: What Are Action Items In A Meeting & The 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions

11. Follow-up

Assign someone to follow up after the meeting on the action items and their progress. The meeting organizer or facilitator can assign someone in the group to report frequently on the progress and completion of the action items. Doing this will increase your meeting productivity.

12. Meeting Minutes

DistributionAfter the meeting has concluded transcribe the meeting minutes into a document or include it in the body of an email for informal meetings. Distribute the minutes by sending them to all participants, absentees, and persons of interest such as senior management as appropriate.

Learn More: Meeting Minutes – How to do it with Best Practices (+16 FAQ’s)

Conclusion

Meeting notes are a necessary component for you as a meeting attendee in whatever capacity that may be. Do it even when others are taking meeting minutes to ensure that the minutes sent to you afterward are an accurate account of what transpired.

Meeting minutes have twelve elements to them whereas meeting notes have about half of them. The threshold of when meeting minutes are being taken instead of meeting notes is when all twelve elements are being recorded in a written account of your meeting.

Trust my Advice & Trust my Experience

My more than 33 years of experience as a business consultant taking businesses to the next level of success has given me a wealth of knowledge in business and business meetings. I often see that business meetings are not productive, and I share my knowledge and skills to ensure that they become what they should be; an incredible opportunity to make your company a leader in your market.

People are not provided with the training and skills to navigate meetings properly. This is the reason I have written this article. I do hope you find it informative and helpful.

FAQ’s

1. Are meeting notes private?

When the meeting notes are your notes then the answer is yes, when they belong to a company or institution then the answer is no. When you are taking notes like meeting minutes on behalf of your company then the meeting notes belong to the company.

2. Are meeting notes the same as minutes?

Although some people will call meeting minutes by the name of meeting notes they are different. It is a summary of a meeting that contains many of the elements that meeting minutes have but because they don’t contain them all they are not called meeting notes. Also, meeting notes are usually personal notes on a meeting that you are attending, to ensure that the meeting minutes are an accurate account of what took place when you receive them.

3. What are meeting notes called?

Meeting notes are a summary of your meeting and may contain many elements of meeting minutes. They are sometimes mistaken for meeting minutes which have a more formal structure containing 12 elements. It can contain as much information and details as the person who is taking them feels like writing. Meeting notes are a personal account of a meeting that you attended, whereas meeting minutes are an accurate written account of the meeting on behalf of the participants in your meeting.

4. Can unclassified meeting notes be released to the public?

Unclassified meeting notes can be released to the public but should be scrutinized before doing so. Consideration of the benefits to the public should be analyzed and whether there is any negative impact to the company or institution that is releasing them to the public.

5. How to write meeting notes?

Your meeting notes have a few elements that are included besides the date, time, location of the meeting, and who participated in it. It will include each topic that was discussed, the discussion points in bullet point form, and the action items or agreements from it. Sometimes people mean meeting minutes when referring to meeting notes which are more formal in structure and have 12 elements. Use a meeting journal and follow its structure format to not miss any element if you do not often take minutes of a meeting. The Konnect Meeting Minutes Journal is a great option to consider.

6. How to organize meeting notes?

Organize your meeting notes by placing the date, time, meeting location, and attendees, at the top of a page whether it is an electronic or paper book. Write each discussion topic as it is being discussed in the meeting. Under the topic, write the points mentioned and bring them up as a summary of what people are saying in the meeting in point form. Then under all the discussion points write the action items or agreements from the discussion. Meeting minutes have 12 elements and go a little further than meeting notes and it is a good idea to use a meeting journal to capture all the specifics of your meeting.

7. What to include in meeting notes?

Meeting notes include a minimum of these 7 elements. They are date, time, location, attendees, discussion topics, discussion points on each topic, and finally the action items from the discussions. Meeting minutes go further and have 12 points including the 7 that meeting notes have. The other five are meeting absentees, meeting purpose, facilitator, timekeeper, and meeting minutes notes taker. Capture your meeting minutes in a meeting minutes journal, such as the Konnect Meeting Minutes Journal. Meeting journals have a great and easy-to-follow page layout and are a great way to record meetings accurately.

8. How to take meeting notes effectively?

Take meeting minutes effectively by using a meeting minutes journal like the Konnect Meeting Minutes Journal. It has structured pages to record the twelve elements of a formal meeting such as a company board meeting. Use it for other meetings such as project meetings, problem-solving meetings, and company initiative meetings as well. Personal meeting notes don’t have to be as rigorous as meeting minutes and can contain the date, time, location, attendees, discussion topics, discussion points within the topics, and finally the action items.

9. How to send meeting notes by email?

Transcribe your meeting notes as a separate attachment document and send them to all meeting participants. Alternatively, you can place your meeting notes in the body of your email for less formal meetings. Make sure that you include the time, date, location of the meeting, and the attendees. Then follow it up with the topics discussed, points made by various attendees on each topic, and the agreed action items from the topics discussed.

10. What are meeting notes?

Meeting notes are a personal summary of the discussions, agreements, and actions that took place in your meeting. Meeting minutes are a more accurate and formal way of creating a written record of your meeting. It is a company requirement in most of the Western world as a legal requirement to be done by the board of directors at least once yearly. The same process is implemented for other important company meetings such as problem-solving or project management meetings.

11. Where to write meeting notes?

Meeting notes are written either in an electronic application such as Microsoft Word or as a written paper record in a meeting journal. Meeting minutes journals are available in the marketplace today providing you with many choices. Keep your meeting records as most companies require them to be kept on file for future reference purposes.

12. Who takes notes in a meeting?

Usually, the meeting organizer takes meeting minutes of the meeting. However, you can have a meeting participant volunteer to do it or assign it to someone in your meeting group.  Your meeting minutes taker will be responsible for taking minutes. The organizer or facilitator cannot always take the meeting minutes in larger group settings. Especially when they are involved in white-board exercises or other activities being done in the meeting.

13. Why are meeting notes as important?

Taking meeting notes is important for you to do. Studies show that we as human beings forget about 50% of what was exactly said or done in a meeting less than one hour after its completion. That continues to increase where after one month we only remember about 10% of what occurred. Given that everyone remembers different portions of the meeting, it is important to take accurate meeting notes. Further, your meeting notes should coincide with the meeting minutes distributed to the meeting group after the meeting for accuracy.

14. What are meeting notes with action items?

Meeting notes include the discussion points during the various topics discussed at your meeting. Most topics will have a conclusion in the form of an agreement or as the next steps to take to solve something. Your ‘next steps’ are action items that are assigned to an individual or a group to complete by a specified date.

15. What should meeting notes look like?

Meeting notes should look structured so that it is easy to follow. Start with the date, time, venue, and attendees at the top of the page. Then follow it with a meeting purpose. Itemize the topics discussed in the body of your notes in the following manner:

Topics

• Discussion points
• Action Items with responsible personnel and due dates