Meeting Minutes Template: Copy-Paste Format & Filled Sample

Meeting minutes record who attended, what was decided and who does what next. Below is a template you can paste into Google Docs, Word, Notion or the meeting notes in Microsoft Teams, a Word file to download, and a filled-in sample from a project meeting.

The meeting minutes template

Copy everything inside the box. Replace the brackets, delete the sections you don't need.

Download: Word (.docx) with the blank template and the filled-in sample. Google Docs opens it too: File, then Open, then Upload.

What goes in each section

• Header. Name, date, time and place, so the minutes can be found months later. List who was absent as well as who came. For a board or committee, also record whether there was a quorum.
• Agenda items. One block per item, in the order of the agenda. Discussion stays short; the decision line is what people come back for.
• Action items. Every task with one owner and a date. For longer lists, use our action items template and link it here.
• Open questions. Topics that came up without a decision. Add who follows up and by when.
• Next meeting and status. When the group meets again. Send the minutes as a draft; mark them approved once the facilitator or the board confirms them.

Filled-in sample: a project meeting (fictional team)

How to take minutes people actually read

1. Write decisions, not a transcript. One to three lines of discussion per agenda item is enough. The full conversation belongs in the recording.
2. Keep ideas and decisions apart. "Raj suggested moving the launch" and "Decided: launch moves to Nov 10" are different lines. If you can't tell which one happened, ask before the meeting ends.
3. Fill in owner and date for every task. If they weren't agreed, write "TBD" and confirm with the person before sending.
4. Send the minutes the same day as a draft and ask for corrections by a set date.
5. Link the recording if there is one, so anyone can check the exact wording of a decision.

Team notes or formal minutes?

The template above fits team and project meetings. Boards, committees, nonprofits and HOAs usually keep formal minutes, which follow the organization's bylaws.

For board meetings, pair the minutes with a clear board meeting agenda: the minutes follow its order item by item.

Using the template in Word, Google Docs and Teams

• Word. Download the .docx above and save a copy per meeting.
• Google Docs. Upload the .docx or paste the template. Share the doc with attendees before the meeting so they see the agenda.
• Microsoft Teams. Open the meeting from your Teams calendar, select Notes and paste the template before the call. Colleagues invited to the meeting can edit the notes during the call; guests from outside your organization may not have access.
• Notion or Confluence. Paste the template into a page; the headings and table carry over.

Draft the minutes from the recording

If the meeting was recorded, HypeScribe gives you the material for the template: the transcript with speakers, a short overview, a topic outline and the action items. You assemble the minutes from them. Outline points become discussion lines, a decision you checked in the transcript goes on the Decision line, and each action item becomes a row in the table.

1. Add the recording. Upload an audio or video file up to 2 GB, or paste a link from Zoom, Google Drive, YouTube, Loom and other platforms. The HypeScribe notetaker can also join Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams calls and record them (Pro and Ultra plans).
2. Open the Overview tab. It shows the number of speakers, the length and a short overview of the meeting, then an Outline: the topics in order with their main points. Its topics follow the conversation, which may not match the order of your agenda.
3. Mark the decisions yourself. HypeScribe doesn't have a separate decisions list, and AI can read a suggestion as a decision. Highlight the line in the transcript and press Play from here to hear what was actually agreed.
4. Take the tasks from the Action Items tab. Each item has a title and a description, without separate owner or due date fields. Add those in the template's table once you've checked them in the recording or with the people involved. AI can miss a task or word it loosely.
5. Check the attendee list. The transcript shows who spoke (rename Speaker 1, Speaker 2 to real names), not who listened silently. Fill in Attendees and Absent from who actually joined, using the call's participant list or the organizer, not the invite.
6. Save the report and the recording. Download one report with the overview, action items and transcript as DOCX or PDF and store it next to the approved minutes. Keep the original recording too if anyone may need to hear a decision again.

HypeScribe charges per file, not per minute: a two-hour board meeting uses one credit, the same as a 10-minute stand-up. Plans are on the pricing page.

From recording to minutes

Draft the minutes from your meeting recording

Upload the file or paste a link. HypeScribe gives you the transcript with speakers, an outline of the topics and the action items. Check the decisions in the transcript and fill in the minutes from there.

Try it on your recording

FAQ

What should meeting minutes include?

The meeting name, date and attendees; one block per agenda item with the key discussion points and the decision; action items with owners and due dates; open questions; and the date of the next meeting.

Are meeting minutes the same as a transcript?

No. A transcript is everything that was said. Minutes are the short record of what was decided and who does what. A transcript is useful for writing minutes and for checking them later.

Who should take the minutes?

Ideally someone other than the facilitator, because it's hard to run a discussion and write it down at the same time. In a small team one person can do both if the meeting is recorded.