Top Simple Meeting Minutes Template: Free Sample with Tips

Whether or not a meeting’s goals are achieved often comes down to the meeting notes. For example – were the action items captured in their entirety? Did the team leave with a shared understanding of what was discussed? Was the decision-making rationale properly recorded? Unfortunately, much of this is lost due to bad – or inconsistent – meeting notes.

So how it is that the notes (or ‘meeting minutes’) – a seemingly mundane exercise we all do – can be so important? Well, the notes are important for a number of reasons:

1. They are the official record

First and foremost, meeting minutes serve as an official record of what was discussed and decided during a meeting. This can be especially useful in a business setting, where decisions made during meetings can have significant consequences and need to be documented for future reference. For example, if a company is working on a new product launch, the meeting minutes from the planning sessions can serve as a useful reference when it comes time to execute on the launch.

2. They establish a shared understanding

In addition to serving as an official record, meeting minutes can also help to ensure that all team members are on the same page. By documenting what was discussed and decided during a meeting, everyone can have a clear understanding of their responsibilities and the actions that need to be taken moving forward. This can help to prevent miscommunications and keep the team moving forward efficiently.

3. They are a communication tool

Finally, meeting minutes can be a helpful tool for keeping stakeholders informed about the progress of a project or initiative. By sharing the meeting minutes with relevant parties, everyone can stay up to date on the latest developments and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals.

Overall, taking good meeting minutes is an important part of effective communication and decision-making within a team or organization. By documenting what was discussed and decided during meetings, you can ensure that everyone is on the same page and that important information is not lost.

How to take good meeting notes?

There are a couple of ways you can ensure good meeting notes are taken:

Use a template based on the Agenda. Your notes should follow the agenda clearly, so that users can easily reference the discussion. The attached Meeting Minutes template at the bottom of this article will help you do that.
Assign a note-taker. Your note-taker should be someone who is not expected to actively participate – this is because recording good notes takes focus and time, making it hard to formulate thoughts and contribute. If you can’t get a dedicated note-taker, do the duty yourself or rotate note-taking responsibilities from one meeting to the next. Rotating note-taking duties is important to ensure that your whole team contributes as regularly as possible.

Download the free ‘meeting minutes’ template

Please feel free to download the Word Document, make edits, and circulate as you please. And if you like this template, check out my Meeting Minutes template for effective note-taking. You can also the rest of my template catalogue, and make suggestions for future templates via the contact page. And finally, go check out my article on how to run an effective team meeting!

Good luck with your next meeting!