Meeting Minutes Templates and Examples

Whether for business, club, or sports events, meeting minutes can be a key part of keeping the entire team up-to-date on what happened. And it doesn't have to be an arduous task.

Below are some example templates as well as tips and ideas to help you get started with writing and preparing effective meeting minutes.

What are meeting minutes for?

Meeting minutes are the notes that capture what happened at a meeting! Different than a meeting agenda, it records the decisions made and actions requested by the group. Despite the team, they are not a minute-by-minute record but include the key details that the team will want to know. It's important in meeting minutes to capture information such as:

• decisions made
• next steps
• action items and who is responsible

Minutes are the record of who was there and what happened. They are an important source of information for people who were unable to attend or looking back to reflect on what happened. They're also an incredibly effective tool to notify or remind people of tasks assigned to them or timelines to keep everyone on track.

What should go into meeting minutes?

Here are some of the details that you should into the meeting minutes.

• Date and time of meeting
• Names of the participants
• Agenda items and topics discussed
• Action items

Example of meeting minutes

Below is an example from an informal meeting which captures only the most relevant facts.

Informal team meeting minutes template

Date: Today's date

Attendees

• List of attendees

Agenda

• Item 1 including key discussions, decisions made, next steps
• Item 2
• Item 3

Next steps

• List goes here in format: action item, responsible person, date
• Example: Brian to follow up to this group with a list of target companies by end of week

Below is an example from a more formal board meeting.

Formal board meeting minutes template

DATE: Date of the meeting

PRESENT: First and last names of all those present at the meeting

ABSENT: First and last names of Committee members who are unable to attend the meeting.

1. CALL TO ORDER/OPENING REMARKS

   • The time that the meeting was called to order and by whom.
   • Any opening remarks summarized here.

2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM (DATE)

   • You need a motion to approve the prior meeting's minutes.
   • Motion: To approve the minutes of (DATE) as circulated (or AMENDED) Motion By: Name of person (FIRST & LAST) who made the motion
   • Seconded By: Name of the person (FIRST & LAST) who seconded the motion Carried or Defeated

3. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

   • If there are additions to the agenda or requests for the next meeting's agenda, these would be bulleted here.

4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

   • Motion: to approve the agenda as circulated (or AMENDED)
   • Motion By: name of person (FIRST & LAST) who made the motion
   • Seconded By: name of person (FIRST & LAST) who made the motion Carried or Defeated

5. BUSINESS FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING

   • Any items from the previous meeting that need to be discussed further

6. ITEM # 1 TO BE DISCUSSED

   • Put a summary of the discussion around the topic
   • If any motions were made, put the information here
   • If further information is needed, put follow-ups, names, and a target date here

7. ITEM # 2 TO BE DISCUSSED

   • Any other items

8. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

   • Any added agenda Item, including a summary of the discussions around this item
   • If any motions were made, put information here
   • If further information is needed, put follow-ups, names, and a target date here

9. ADJOURNMENT

   • Record the time the meeting was adjourned

10. NEXT MEETING (DATE)

• The next meeting date should be decided at the end of the meeting before everyone leaves. It's a handy reminder to include it at the bottom of the minutes template so it isn't missed.