Taking effective meeting minutes is crucial for capturing key discussions, decisions, and action points. Depending on the type of meeting and audience, different minute-taking formats can be more suitable. This article will explore some of the most common minute-taking formats and their best use cases. 

1. Action-Oriented Minutes 

Best For: Project teams, business strategy meetings, and action-focused discussions. 

Action-oriented minutes focus on decisions made and the actions assigned during the meeting. Instead of documenting the entire discussion in detail, this format highlights: 

• Actions: What needs to be done. 

• Responsibility: Who is responsible for each task. 

• Deadline: The expected completion date for each task. 
   

Why Choose This Format? 

If the meeting is heavily focused on getting things done, this format helps prioritize action items without burdening team members with unnecessary details. 

2. Discussion-Oriented Minutes 

Best For: Brainstorming sessions, open discussions, and creative meetings. 

This format captures the details of discussions, key ideas, and differing viewpoints raised during the meeting. Rather than focusing on outcomes, discussion-oriented minutes record the flow of conversation and the key points made by participants. 

Why Choose This Format? 

When the purpose of the meeting is to explore new ideas or discuss complex topics, capturing the content of the discussions ensures that key insights are not lost. 

3. Decision-Oriented Minutes 

Best For: Board meetings, executive team meetings, and strategic decision-making sessions. 

In this format, the minutes focus on the decisions made during the meeting, often accompanied by a summary of the reasoning behind each decision. It may also include a brief outline of any alternative options considered. 

Why Choose This Format? 

Decision-oriented minutes are essential when tracking formal decisions that will impact the organization’s future strategy or operations. This format helps keep a clear record of decisions and their context. 

4. Summarized Minutes 

Best For: Large meetings, department updates, or information-sharing sessions. 

Summarized minutes condense the meeting content into key points, providing a high-level overview of what was discussed without going into great detail. This is useful for meetings where a detailed record of every statement isn’t necessary, but a general overview is required. 

Why Choose This Format? 

Summarized minutes are perfect for keeping records of information-heavy meetings where the details are not as critical, or when attendees only need a broad understanding of what was covered. 

5. Verbatim Minutes 

Best For: Legal proceedings, official government meetings, or when a detailed transcript is required. 

Verbatim minutes capture every word spoken during the meeting, often using audio recording and transcription. This format ensures a complete record of the meeting but can be time-consuming to produce. 

Why Choose This Format? 

Verbatim minutes are best used when the exact words of each speaker need to be captured for legal, compliance, or official reasons.