Meetings are an integral part of any business. No matter what position you’re in, you will inevitably have to attend meetings and even make notes. As such, if you’re someone who’s designated to maintain minutes of meetings, then you need a meeting notes template to make your job easier.
Starting from scratch every time is inefficient and a waste of time. Using a template allows you to keep things consistent and ensure you cover all important points while saving time and effort.
A meeting notes template can improve meeting notes by improving note-taking strategies, ensuring productive and organized meetings, and facilitating easy sharing of formal meeting minutes with team members and stakeholders.
Wondering where you’ll find said templates?
We’ve done the work for you and curated a list of nine great meeting note templates for you to choose from. But first, let’s understand what a meeting notes template is and what it comprises.
What is a Meeting Notes Template?
A meeting notes template is a document that is used to record minutes of a meeting. It typically has sections to add the following details:
- Attendees: Names of all the people who attended a meeting.
- Absentees: Names of people who were supposed to attend a meeting but didn’t.
- Agenda: A list of key points that will be discussed during the meeting and the main purpose of the meeting. The meeting agenda should summarize key points from each item on the agenda.
- Points discussed: This is the main note-taking section to record the key points that were discussed during a meeting.
- Action items: If there are any next steps or actions that need to be taken after a meeting, they can be listed here.
- Links: This is where you can add the link to the recording of the meeting and links to resources shared during the meeting.
These are just the common sections that are included in a meeting notes template, but you can add any other sections you need to record the notes from a meeting.
Top 9 Meeting Notes Template Options
A meeting minutes template can save you a lot of time and effort, especially if you need to record recurring meetings. It provides a basic framework for keeping a record of everything important without needing to start from scratch.
So, if you’re looking for a good meeting notes template to make your life easier, here are a few options for you to choose from:
1. Nifty’s Meeting Minutes Template
If you’re looking for a simple, no-fuss meeting notes template that is easy to use, then this Nifty template is perfect for you.
The fields are easy to customize, and you can easily add any other fields you require. Within each section, you can use bullet points to organize your notes.
Whether you want to take notes for a client meeting or a team meeting, this can be your go-to meeting notes template for various use cases.
Want to know the best part?
You can easily share the notes with the attendees at the click of a button. If you want to allow others to modify the doc or add their notes, then that’s also possible with Nifty’s team collaboration features.
Get this Nifty’s meeting template for free. Get now.
2. Formal Meeting Minutes Template
Need a meeting notes template to keep a record of votes during a board meeting?
Use this formal Nifty meeting notes template. It is ideal for board meetings and other formal business meetings. It allows you to keep a record of votes in favor or against a decision by an attendee.
Of course, you have the standard sections for making notes, tracking attendance, and mentioning agenda items. In fact, you also have a section to add any follow-up action items pending from the last meeting.
This is a great template to use on a recurring basis to record notes from meetings. Share it with attendees prior to a meeting to let them know the agenda items and action items from the previous meeting that will be discussed in the upcoming one.
The best part is that tables and bulleted lists keep things organized and well-structured. This makes note-keeping simpler and much easier for everyone.
3. Nifty’s 1-on-1 Meeting Notes Template
If you conduct weekly or monthly one-on-one sessions with your team members, then this Nifty 1-on-1 meeting notes template is just what you need.
You can replicate this for each meeting and share access with the team members you’re meeting. Both you and they can add agenda items and discussion points.
There’s space to record any important updates for the week or month and note down the key points that were discussed. At the end, you can also add action items if there are any next steps you want your employee to take.
This meeting notes template is perfect for enabling transparent communication between a manager and an employee. It helps keep a record of all such sessions, and these notes are useful during the annual employee appraisal.
While this is a basic meeting notes template for employee-manager meetings, you need not limit yourself to the sections that are currently there. It’s created in Nifty Docs and allows tons of customization options to tailor it to your needs.
You can add or delete sections, change the format, and even add visual elements like your company’s logo. The options are limitless, and you only need to modify it once and create copies to use it for every meeting thereafter.
Try Nifty’s meeting note template for free.
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4. Meeting Minutes Template by Canva
This minimal meeting notes template by Canva is perfect for those who like their notes organized in a visually pleasing manner.
It has all the important sections, such as agenda, action items, attendees, and updates. However, unlike Nifty templates, which allow access to multiple users, this is not good for collaborative purposes.
Moreover, the black and purple color combination adds a visual appeal to an otherwise boring thing like a “notes from meeting template.”
5. ClickUp Client Meeting Notes Template
This is a simple yet effective meeting notes template for recording meeting minutes. ClickUp offers a free meeting minutes template that is versatile for different types of meetings, including team meetings and board meetings.
Though this is designed for client meetings, it can be used for various types of meetings. You can customize it for a specific type of meeting.
When you have a client meeting, you can’t take the risk of missing anything important while taking notes. That’s why it’s important to record the meeting and share the link with all the attendees.
This template allows you to do that. There’s a section where you can add the recording link. It also has all the important elements of a good meeting notes template to ensure all the important details are recorded.
ClickUp’s template is good but not customizable. Try Nifty’s customizable template.
6. Sales & Marketing Team Meeting Notes Template Word
While generic meeting note templates can be used for various purposes, sometimes more can be done with templates designed for specific purposes or departments.
As such, if you need one for sales and marketing team meetings, then you can consider this MS Word meeting notes template.
It is completely customizable, and you have the option to add your brand logo or any other visual or text elements. Since it’s an MS Word template, it can be easily shared with team members.
What makes it truly unique is the option to track the progress and status of various tasks and action items. Since sales and marketing teams deal with multiple projects, this is a good feature to keep track of action items from various meetings.
7. Evernote Meeting Notes Template
Evernote is a popular app for taking notes, and this notes of meeting template it offers is perfect for those who want their notes structured. This template is also ideal for informal meetings such as brainstorming sessions and team huddles.
Some types of meetings, such as team meetings, do not require you to note down everything that was discussed. For such meetings, the focus is often on action items and tracking their progress.
This template is perfect for that purpose. There’s a table where you can list all the tasks assigned to various team members and their status. It’s also great for keeping track of who is responsible for what tasks.
The simple checklist format is great for marking tasks as complete when they’re done.
All other details, such as agenda and attendance, are captured in brief at the top, keeping the main focus on the action items. It is a customizable template, so you can add more sections if you like.
It’s the right template to use for creating a work plan for the week or month, depending on how often you and your team meet.
8. Excel Project Meeting Notes Template
Do you prefer to record your notes on MS Excel to keep them more structured?
If so, then this Excel meeting minutes template is a good option for you.
It uses a tabular structure to mark attendance, record the meeting date, and list the names and contact information of attendees.
There is an option to note down agenda items briefly and concisely. You can also list who is responsible for a particular task and when they were expected to deliver it.
This is another template that is great for weekly team meetings to keep track of task allotments.
Know why Nifty’s templates are better than Excel.
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9. Meeting Notes Template by Atlassian
The last on our curated list of templates is this template by Atlassian, which has a clean and minimal design.
One unique thing about this template is that you can actually tag the attendees and notify them of the meeting. This is unlike most other templates, where you can simply list the names but not tag people. Additionally, this template makes meeting notes accessible to all attendees, allowing for easy sharing and editing.
The bulleted list format is fairly easy to use and keeps your notes organized. The interface is similar to any other document creation platform like Word or Google Docs. So, the process of customizing the template is almost similar.
You can easily add, remove, or modify sections, as well as add images, links, or tables.
What Makes a Good Meeting Notes Template?
There’s no such thing as a perfect meeting notes template. The perfect template for you would depend on your requirements and the type of meeting.
Still, there are certain must-have features and characteristics that any notes of meeting template should have.
Here are some essential features that every good meeting notes template should have:
- An easy way to mark attendance or make a list of attendees for a meeting
- A structure that allows the note-taker to cover all important information in a simple and effective manner
- The option to easily customize existing sections or add new ones to suit the user’s specific requirements
- An organized way to take notes, such as a bulleted list or a table format.
- Collaborative tools to share the notes with various team members and even allow them to add to the notes
- A separate section to add action items and next steps to let the attendees know what they’re supposed to do after a meeting
- A meeting details section that clearly outlines the project, meeting time, attendees, and meeting goals to provide a quick overview
Use this as your guide to find a great template that can help you improve your meeting notes and keep detailed records.
Nifty: A PM Tool with Built-In Meeting Notes Templates
As we have already established, a meeting notes template is a handy tool for recording notes from meetings. There are many options for you to choose from but you can start with our curated list of the nine options listed in this article.
We also recommend using a good project management tool to streamline your day-to-day tasks. Nifty is a useful tool that comes with a built-in meeting notes template.
You can create your templates using Nifty Docs. This tool allows you to share your documents with your team members and work collaboratively, so more than one person can add to meeting minutes. Nifty’s templates also help you set up the date and time for the next meeting and organize action items effectively.
Interested in checking out what Nifty has to offer? Get started for free and explore its features before you decide to invest in it.
