2. Choosing the form of the minutes

Four minute-takers, one meeting, four very different sets of minutes. Which form fits depends on what your readers need to be able to do with them. You make that choice in advance, not when you are already at your screen and notice that your notes don't match what you are typing.

Four forms on one scale

The four report formats lie on a continuous scale. On the left, only the outcomes end up in your report; on the right, the arguments and the speakers remain visible too. The further to the right, the more write-up time it takes and the less quickly anyone reads it.

On the left is the action and decision list: a table with one decision or action per line, a name and a date. Alongside that, the concise report: three to eight lines per agenda item, stating what it was about and what came out of it. Then the detailed report, which sets out the meeting's line of reasoning including the arguments that did not prevail. And on the right the minutes attributed to speakers, in which every contribution is linked to the person who made it, in the order of the conversation.

The action and decision list

The shortest form leaves out the discussion. Anyone reading the list can see within thirty seconds what is expected of them. This form suits meetings that revolve around progress and the division of work: a weekly team meeting, a project stand-up, an operational departmental meeting. The participants heard the discussion themselves and do not need a summary, but they do need a reminder.

A usable list contains seven elements per line. A sequential number, so that you can refer to it in the next meeting without reading out the whole text. The date of the meeting, so that it remains visible how long an item has been on the list. The agenda item, in one or two words. The decision or the action, in a single active sentence beginning with a verb. The action owner: one name, no department and no "everyone", because an action without an owner is not an action. An deadline with a specific date, not "as soon as possible". And a status: open, in progress or completed, so that the list remains usable between two meetings.

An action is given a number when it arises and keeps that number until it is completed. That way, in the next meeting you can say "item 24-07 is still open" without having to explain the item again. Open actions are carried over unchanged with their original number; completed actions are listed once with the status "completed" and then removed.

The formal decision list

Alongside the mixed list there is a stricter variant. This contains decisions only, numbered consecutively throughout the year, in a fixed wording that begins with the body taking the decision. Actions and explanatory notes are left out.

If a decision is amended later, you record the new decision as a separately numbered decision with the sentence "this decision replaces decision 2026-17". Crossing out or altering an earlier decision makes the list unreliable.

The concise report

The concise minutes give a short summary of each agenda item in continuous sentences: what it was about, what considerations came into play and what the outcome is. You write the main line, not the conversation itself. You leave out speakers' names, unless someone takes on an action or objects explicitly. Keep to three to eight lines per agenda item. If an item is consistently longer, it contains detail that your most distant reader does not need.

At the end you almost always put an action list. Readers who are only looking for their own tasks then do not have to scan through the text. That repetition is deliberate: an agreement hidden away in a paragraph is missed by half of the readers.

The detailed report and the report by speaker

Sometimes the outcome alone is not enough and the reader needs to be able to follow how it came about. The detailed minutes set out the meeting's reasoning for each agenda item, including the positions of individual participants, and close with the decision. Arguments that did not prevail are included as well.

That takes time, and the investment pays off if the reasoning behind a decision is needed later. That applies to decisions with legal or financial consequences, to meetings with a long retention period, to a clear difference of opinion within the group, to formal bodies whose rules state that positions must be traceable, and to subjects that recur across several meetings.

With minutes by speaker you go a step further: you link every contribution to the person who made it, in the order of the conversation. So you do not read "the meeting weighs the costs against the risk", but in turn what Fatima said, what Rens replied and how the chair wrapped up. That form suits meetings in which the position of the participants themselves carries meaning: council meetings, hearings, disciplinary cases, consultations between a director and the works council. For a team meeting it is too heavy, because as soon as names are attached to statements, participants start speaking more cautiously.

Choosing with three questions

You do not choose between the four forms on instinct or out of habit, but on the basis of three questions you answer with your chair before the meeting.

• Does the reasoning need to be traceable? Does someone need to be able to trace a year from now why this choice was made? If so, the detailed minutes are the starting point.
• Does it matter that a particular person held a particular view? If so, you note it by speaker.
• How much context does your most distant reader need? Is a bare decision line enough for them, or will they lose the thread without an explanation?

You set the chosen format per meeting series and you do not switch it from one meeting to the next. Anyone used to finding the agreements in a table at the back will look for that table again next time. If the format changes without notice, some readers will miss their own action.

Summary

• The four formats increase in level of detail: the action and decision list, the concise minutes, the detailed minutes and the detailed minutes attributed to speakers.
• Each line of the action and decision list contains a number, the meeting date, the topic, the action in one sentence, one name, a specific date and a status.
• The number travels with the action until it has been completed, so that you can refer to it in the next meeting.
• A formal decision list contains only numbered decisions with their literal wording and serves as an archive document. An amended decision is given a new number.
• Concise minutes keep to three to eight lines per agenda item and leave out speakers' names.
• The detailed report suits financial, legal and formal decision-making. Minutes attributed by speaker belong in bodies where the position of individual participants carries meaning in itself.
• Choose using three questions: does the reasoning have to be traceable, do individual positions count, and how much context does your most distant reader need?
• You combine each format with a separate action list at the end, and you keep the chosen format consistent from meeting to meeting.