Meeting minutes template: free to download in Word and PDF

The template covers two A4 pages: meeting details with attendees, apologies and distribution, the agenda, discussion and decisions for each item, an action items table with owner and due date, any other business, the next meeting and a line for approval. It works as a team meeting, staff meeting or project meeting minutes template.

Free, no sign-up, no email address. In the Word version the tick boxes are clickable and the tables grow as you type. There is no separate Excel version: if you track actions in Excel, select the action items table in Word and paste it into a spreadsheet.

MEETING MINUTES
Meeting:
Date:                     Start / finish:
Location / online:
Chair:                    Minute taker:
Attendees:
Apologies:
Distribution:

AGENDA
1.
2.
3.

DISCUSSION AND DECISIONS
Item 1:
  Outcome:
  Decision:
Item 2:
  Outcome:
  Decision:

ACTION ITEMS (Action / Owner / Due)
1.
2.
3.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS
-

NEXT MEETING
Date / time:              Location / online:

Tip: select the text and paste it into an email, OneNote, the meeting chat or a Word document. For a fixed layout with tables, use the Word template above.

Taking meeting minutes well comes down to two things: keep them short, and give every action a name and a date. First decide which format for meeting minutes you need.

For most office meetings, action minutes are enough. Whatever the format, these belong in the minutes:

• Meeting details: title, date, start and finish time, location or online link, chair, minute taker.
• Attendees: who was there, apologies, and who receives the minutes.
• Agenda: the items in the order they were discussed.
• Discussion and decisions: one to three clear sentences per item.
• Action items with owner and due date: a name rather than “the team”, a date rather than “asap”.
• Any other business and the next meeting.

How to take minutes, step by step:

• Before: prepare the template with meeting details and agenda, and carry over open actions from the last minutes.
• During the meeting: jot down key points per item, and write down every decision and commitment with a name and a date straight away.
• Straight after: write them up while everything is fresh. Neutral, factual, no opinions.
• Check and circulate: ask the chair to review, then send them to the distribution list the same day.
• Follow up: the action items are the first item at the next meeting.

This is what action minutes on a single page look like: every line answers a question someone will ask later. What was decided, who is doing it, and by when.

Taking notes and joining in rarely work at the same time. SpeechToWork records the meeting on your PC, your microphone plus the sound from Teams, Zoom or Meet, and then writes the transcript and the minutes: summary, decisions, action items with owner and deadline, open questions. In other words, the sections of this template, without anyone typing.

• No bot joins your meeting. The sound is recorded on your computer, and in-person meetings work too.
• Transcript and minutes are created locally on your PC. Nothing is uploaded.
• In our test, one minute of meeting was analysed in about nine seconds.
• The result is saved as a text file that you can paste into the Word template or your project tool.

Important: before you record, everyone taking part should know and agree. SpeechToWork reminds you before every recording. Read more about AI meeting minutes.