ReferatHow to take meeting minutes
Meeting minutes are a short record of what a meeting decided and who does what next, not a transcript of everything that was said. Write down the date, who attended, each agenda item with its decision, and the action items with a name and a deadline. Send them to everyone within a day, while people still remember the meeting.
What to write down
- The basics: the meeting's name, the date and time, the place or link, who attended, who sent apologies and who took the minutes.
- Each agenda item, in order: one or two sentences on what was discussed, then the decision. If nothing was decided, write that, and what happens next.
- Action items: what will be done, who does it and by when. One name per task, not “the team”.
- The next meeting: date, time and place, if it was agreed.
Leave out who said what word for word, side conversations, and anything about people you wouldn't say to their face. Keep it short and in the past tense: “The group agreed to …”.
A simple template
Copy it into a note or a document and fill in the agenda before the meeting starts:
- [Meeting name] · [date], [time] · [place or link]
- Present: [names] · Apologies: [names] · Minutes: [name]
- 1. [Agenda item] · Discussion: [one or two sentences] · Decision: [what was decided]
- 2. [Agenda item] · Discussion: … · Decision: …
- Action items: [task] – [name] – [date]
- Next meeting: [date and place]
Before, during and after
- Before: get the agenda and put its items into the template, so you only have to fill in the outcomes.
- During: write down decisions and action items as they happen. If it isn't clear what was decided, ask: “So what have we agreed?” It helps everyone, not only you.
- After: tidy up the notes the same day, let the chair check them, and send them to everyone who was invited, including those who couldn't come.
Formal minutes
Boards, associations, councils and other formal bodies often need more: the exact wording of motions, how people voted, and minutes that are approved at the next meeting and sometimes signed. Check your bylaws or rules of procedure. Most team meetings only need the decisions and the action items.
Let your iPhone draft them: Referat
It's hard to take part in a meeting and write the minutes at the same time. Referat is an iPhone app that records the meeting, writes down who said what and drafts a summary with the decisions and the action items. You read the draft, fix what's wrong and paste it into your template.
- Tell everyone you're recording. Open Referat, tap Record and put the phone on the table.
- Stop when the meeting ends. Referat transcribes it on the phone and splits the text by speaker.
- Read the summary, the Decisions and the Actions. Tap Add action item for one it missed.
- Tap Copy summary and paste it into the minutes. If someone later asks what exactly was agreed, search the transcript.
Nothing is uploaded, and there's no account or minute limit. Referat understands English, Danish, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. Summaries need iOS 26 and an iPhone with Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro or newer); recording and transcripts work from iOS 17. More on the recording itself: how to record a meeting on iPhone.