What Are Meeting Minutes?

Meeting minutes, or mom (for minutes of meeting) can be defined

as the written record of everything that's happened during a
meeting. They're used to inform people who didn't attend the
meeting about what happened, or to keep track of what was
decided during the meeting so that you can revisit it and use it to
inform future decisions.

What Should You Include When Writing Meeting Minutes?

The five steps that you must include are:
Pre-Planning
Record taking - at the meeting
Minutes writing or transcribing
Distributing or sharing of meeting minutes
Filing or storage of minutes for future reference

What Is the Purpose of Meeting Minutes?

You shouldn’t be intimidated by the term “minutes”, since it’s
actually a little misleading. After all, your committee or Board
doesn’t want or need a record of its meeting proceedings minute
by minute! But it is important to capture the essence of the
meeting, including details such as:
decisions made (motions made, votes, etc.)
next steps planned
identification and tracking of action items
Minutes are a tangible record of the meeting for its participants
and a source of information for members who were unable to
attend. In some cases, meeting minutes can act as a reference
point, for example:
when a meeting’s outcomes impact other collaborative activities
or projects within the organization
minutes can serve to notify (or remind) individuals of tasks
assigned to them and/or timelines
Download our Meeting Minute Checklist for Associations and
Non-profits with examples and learn how to take better minutes.

Why Are They Called Minutes of a Meeting?

According to Today I Found Out, the "minutes" of "meeting
minutes" don't refer to the minute measurement of time, but to
the "minute" (my-newt) notes taken during meetings.

What’s Involved With Meeting Minutes?

As mentioned above, there are essentially five steps involved with
meeting minutes:

Pre-Planning
Record taking - at the meeting
Minutes writing or transcribing
Distributing or sharing of meeting minutes
Filing or storage of minutes for future reference
1. Pre-Planning Meeting Minutes:
A well-planned meeting helps ensure effective meeting minutes.
If the Chair and the Secretary or minutes-taker work together to
ensure the agenda and meeting are well thought out, it makes
minute taking much easier. For example, depending on the
meeting structure and the tools you use, the minutes-taker could
work with the Chair to create a document format that works as
an agenda and minutes outline as well.

What Is the Agenda of a Meeting?

Meeting agenda = outline:

At the very least, it’s important to get a copy of the meeting

agenda and use it as a guide or outline for taking notes, setting up
your mom format, and preparing the minutes – with the order
and numbering of items on the minutes of meeting matching those
of the agenda.
In addition, the agenda and/or meeting notice also provides
information that will need to be included in the minutes, such as:
the names of all the meeting attendees, including guests or
speakers
documents that are sent out with the agenda or handed out in the
meeting – copies (digital or hard copy) of handouts should be
stored with the meeting minutes for future reference and for
sharing with those who were unable to attend the meeting (and
others as determined by the meeting’s Chair).

Clarifying Expectations:
When you take on a new role as minutes-taker or Secretary, be
sure to ask the Chair of the committee or Board what their
expectations are of your role during the meeting, as well as the
type of detail he/she expects in the minutes. For example, if your
Board or committee will be dealing with motions, or voting on
items/issues, be clear on whether you need to offer names of those
making motions, seconding, etc. If you will be dealing with this
type of procedures, you (and your Chair) may want to refer to
Robert’s Rules of Order.

2. What Should Be Included in Meeting Minutes?

Before you start taking notes, it’s important to understand the
type of information you need to record at the meeting. As noted
earlier, your organization may have required content and a
specific mom format that you’ll need to follow, but generally,
meeting minutes usually include the following:

Date and time of the meeting

Names of the meeting participants and those unable to attend
(e.g., “regrets”)
Acceptance or corrections/amendments to previous meeting
minutes
Decisions made about each agenda item, for example:
Actions taken or agreed to be taken
Next steps
Voting outcomes – e.g., (if necessary, details regarding who made
motions; who seconded and approved or via show of hands, etc.)
Motions taken or rejected
Items to be held over
New business
Next meeting date and time
You can find more templates and details on formatting meeting
minutes here.

Tips that might help your note taking:

Create an outline – as discussed earlier, having an outline (or

template) based on the agenda makes it easy for you to simply jot
down notes, decisions, etc. under each item as you go along. If you
are taking notes by hand, consider including space below each
item on your outline for your hand-written notes, then print these
out and use this to capture minutes.
Check-off attendees as they enter the room - if you know the
meeting attendees, you can check them off as they arrive, if not
have folks introduce themselves at the start of the meeting or
circulate an attendance list they can check-off themselves.
Record decisions or notes on action items in your outline as soon
as they occur to be sure they are recorded accurately
Ask for clarification if necessary – for example, if the group
moves on without making a decision or an obvious conclusion, ask
for clarification of the decision and/or next steps involved.
Don’t try to capture it all – you can’t keep up if you try to write
down the conversation verbatim, so be sure to simply (and
clearly) write (or type) just the decisions, assignments, action
steps, etc.
Record it – literally, if you are concerned about being able to keep
up with note taking, consider recording the meeting (e.g., on your
smart phone, iPad, recording device, etc.) but be sure to let
participants know they are being recording. While you don’t
want to use the recording to create a word-for-word transcript of
the meeting, the recording can come in handy if you need
clarification.
3. The Minutes Writing Process
Once the meeting is over, it’s time to pull together your notes and
write the minutes. Here are some tips that might help:

Try to write the minutes as soon after the meeting as possible

while everything is fresh in your mind.
Review your outline and if necessary, add additional notes or
clarify points raised. Also check to ensure all decisions, actions
and motions are clearly noted.
Ensure you're including sufficient detail
For Board of Director’s minutes in particular, we recommend
including a short description of each action taken, as well as the
rationale behind the decision
If there was a lot of discussion before passing a motion, write
down the major arguments for and against
Edit to ensure brevity and clarity, so the minutes are easy to read

In terms of mom format, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Be objective
Write in the same tense throughout
Avoid using names other than to record motions and seconds.
Avoid personal observations — the minutes should be solely fact-
based
If you need to refer to other documents, don't try to summarize
them. Rather, simply indicate where they can be found or attach
them as an appendix

4. Do Meeting Minutes Have To Be Approved?

Before you share your meeting minutes, make sure that the Chair
has reviewed and either revised and/or approved the minutes for
circulation. They are not an official record of a meeting unless
this has taken place. Depending on your Board, minutes may also
be formally approved at the beginning of the next meeting.

5. Distributing or Sharing Meeting Minutes

As the official “minutes-taker” or Secretary, your role may
include dissemination of the minutes.

6. Filing/Storage of Meeting Minutes

Most committees and Boards review and either approve or amend
the minutes at the beginning of the subsequent meeting. Once
you’ve made any required revisions, the minutes will then need to
be stored for future reference. Some organizations may store
these online (e.g., in Google docs or SkyDrive) and also back these
up on an external hard drive. You may also need to print and
store hard copies as well or provide these to a staff member or
Chair for filing.

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Meeting Minutes Sample:
Meeting Minutes Template: