Good minutes may seem self-evident, but they are not. During a meeting, a lot happens at once: people make decisions, allocate action points and engage in discussions. The trick is to record that information properly. And now that more and more people are using AI during meetings, the way we take minutes is changing too. These tips will help you take minutes more easily, quickly and effectively – whether you’re taking them yourself or using AI.
The 10 tips: Taking minutes at a meeting
Tip 1: Don’t write everything down
Good minutes aren’t necessarily about everything that was said, but rather about what matters. So focus on decisions, action points and key insights.
Tip 2: Start with a clear structure
You can prepare your minutes in advance to some extent. Create a template and work according to a fixed structure. Consider, for example:
- Date and attendees
- Topics
- Decisions
- Action points
This way, you’ll avoid having to puzzle over where to put things afterwards.
Tip 3: Use the agenda as a basis
The agenda is your best friend. For each agenda item, note down the key outcomes. This brings more structure to your minutes and helps you keep track of everything.
Tip 4: Write down decisions straight away
Has a decision been made? Then write it down straight away. And do so as clearly as possible, including who is responsible. Because if you wait until the end to write down your decisions, you run the risk of forgetting something.
Tip 5: Make specific action points
Even though it might be said in the meeting, ‘I’ll get round to it’ is not an action point. What you can write is: ‘Lisa to send a proposal by Friday at 12:00’. The more specific, the better. So always bear in mind: who does what and when.
Tip 6: Use abbreviations and keywords
You need to be able to type or write quickly anyway, but sometimes you just can’t get everything down on paper. Yet during the meeting, you do want to keep up the pace. So, if necessary, just jot down keywords and flesh them out later, either yourself or with the help of AI. That way, you can be sure you won’t forget anything. And if you’ve made a spelling mistake? Just leave it for now – you can always correct it later. It takes too much time to do so during the meeting.
Tip 7: Finalise your minutes as soon as possible
If you wait too long, you’ll lose the details. Ideally, you should finalise the minutes straight after the meeting, whilst everything is still fresh in your mind. Don’t hesitate to ask people to remind you of the details.
Tip 8: Keep it simple and easy to read
Nobody wants a report that’s too long. In fact, nobody will read it. So keep it simple and easy to read.
Good minutes are:
- In brief
- Clear
- To the point
Remember: it’s not a verbatim transcript. It’s a summary and an action list.
Tip 9: Use AI to take minutes
All well and good, that manual work… but there’s an easier way. More and more people are using AI to take minutes at meetings. For example, with tools such as Microsoft Copilot, which automatically generates minutes from a meeting. But you can also use the transcription feature in Teams or Zoom. There are also other (paid) AI minute-taking tools that can do the work for you.
These tools can automatically transcribe conversations into text. They can also produce summaries for you.
Please note: you don’t necessarily need to hold an online meeting, as you can also use AI to take minutes at a face-to-face meeting. For example, by recording the conversation and then having it transcribed automatically. You will need to ask the participants for their permission to do this.
Good to know: AI isn’t perfect. Sometimes it misses the context or fails to convey the message properly. And a sarcastic joke thrown in here and there is often not understood. So you can use AI as a support tool, rather than a replacement.
Tip 10: Record the meeting (with permission)
If you’re using AI for your minutes, you’ll be making a recording anyway. If you’re not using AI, you can still record the meeting so you can listen back to it later. This helps you to get your thoughts in order. It’s particularly useful for complex discussions.
Please note:
- Inform participants in advance
- Explain why you’re recording
- Handle the recording with care
Good minutes start with a good meeting
Whether you take notes yourself or use AI to help: good minutes stand or fall with the meeting itself. The clearer the agenda, agreements and decisions are, the easier it becomes to record everything accurately afterwards. Here are 12 tips for your next meeting. Here’s a heads-up: don’t just take the minutes seriously, but also the environment in which you’re holding the meeting.
A quiet, professional meeting room helps to keep everyone’s attention on the discussion. At the Jaarbeurs MeetUp Conference Centre, you’ll find 30 flexible meeting rooms with natural light and modern, plug-and-play technology. From a small boardroom for a meeting with a small team of two or more people to larger rooms for up to 240 people. Whether it’s a meeting, training session or workshop, there’s a setting for every business gathering. Hybrid meetings are also possible.
Do you want to organise your next meeting effectively? Then take a look at the meeting facilities available at Jaarbeurs and find out which meeting room in Utrecht is best suited to your event.
