Minutes of meeting format: a template you can copy, with an example

Minutes of meeting template (copy and paste, or Word)

Plain text works in an email, a document or a chat message. Delete any section the meeting did not need. The same template is available as a Word document (.docx), which also opens in Google Docs.

MINUTES OF MEETING

Meeting:      [Title, e.g. Website redesign kickoff]
Date & time:  [12 November 2026, 11:00 to 11:45 IST]
Place:        [Google Meet link or room]
Chair:        [Name]
Minute taker: [Name]
Present:      [Names, with company for external people]
Absent:       [Names, if relevant]

1. AGENDA
   1. [Item]
   2. [Item]

2. SUMMARY
   - [Two to five lines: what the meeting was for and where it landed]

3. DECISIONS
   - [Decision, stated so someone absent understands it]

4. ACTION ITEMS
   #  Task                         Owner        Due
   1  [Send the revised quote]     [Anjali]     [14 Nov]
   2  [Share the brand assets]     [Client]     [15 Nov]

5. OPEN QUESTIONS
   - [What still needs an answer, and who will find it]

6. NEXT MEETING
   [Date, time and purpose]

Prepared by [Name] on [date]. Corrections to [email] within 2 working days.

What to write in each section

• Details: title, date, start and end time (with time zone for remote meetings), and where it happened.
• Attendees: everyone present, with the company for external people, so it is clear later who heard what.
• Summary: two to five lines on what the meeting was for and where it landed. Not a transcript.
• Decisions: one line each, written so it stands alone. "Launch moves to 1 December" beats "agreed on the date".
• Action items: a task, one owner (a person, not "the team") and a due date. This is the part people read.
• Open questions: what nobody could answer yet, and who will find out.
• Next meeting: the date and what it is for.

A filled-in example

Meeting: Website redesign kickoff, 12 November 2026, 11:00 to 11:45 IST, Google Meet. Present: Anjali (agency), Rahul (agency), Meera (client).

Summary: The client approved the new homepage layout and asked for a Malayalam version of the site. Budget stays the same.

Decisions: Launch on 1 December. Homepage hero uses the client's own photos, not stock.

Action items: 1. Send the revised quote, Anjali, 14 November. 2. Share brand assets and photos, Meera, 15 November. 3. Estimate the Malayalam version, Rahul, 14 November.

Open questions: Who will translate the content into Malayalam?

Next meeting: 19 November, design review.

How to take minutes faster

• Write the agenda into the template before the meeting starts.
• During the meeting, capture only decisions and action items; fill in the summary afterwards.
• Say action items out loud at the end ("So Anjali sends the quote by Friday?"). It fixes owners and dates, and it makes automatic minutes accurate too.
• Send the minutes the same day and ask for corrections within two working days.

Minutes written for you from a Google Meet

Boostlix Notes joins your Google Meet, records it, and emails minutes in this format when the meeting ends: summary, decisions, action items with owners and due dates, what the client asked for, what the team committed to, open questions and the next meeting, with a PDF. It works in any language, including Malayalam, Hindi or Tamil mixed with English. Minutes are part of Pro, $15 a month; the free plan records 10 meetings a month.

Questions