Meeting notes are only useful if people actually read them.
I used to take detailed notes that nobody opened. Huge paragraphs. No structure. Just walls of text that documented everything and communicated nothing.
Then I found a template that works: speakable labels with short bullets. Takes 60 seconds to record. Easy to scan. People actually use it.
The template
Here's the structure I speak for every meeting:
# [Project/Meeting Name] - [Date]
## Attendees
[Name1], [Name2], [Name3]
## Decisions
- [Decision 1]
- [Decision 2]
## Actions
- Owner: [Name]. Due: [Date]. [What needs to happen]
- Owner: [Name]. Due: [Date]. [What needs to happen]
## Risks
- [Risk 1]. Mitigation: [How we'll handle it]
## Next Steps
- [Who] moves first: [What they're doing]
## Summary
[One sentence that captures what this meeting accomplished]
That's it. No complex formatting. No nested bullets. Just clean Markdown that renders well everywhere.
Why this works
Labels create natural pauses When you speak "Attendees... Alice, Ben, Priya," your brain knows to list names. The structure guides what you say.
Short bullets force clarity You can't ramble when you're speaking bullets. Each point has to be self-contained. This makes notes scannable.
Actions have owners and dates The most important part. Every action gets a person and a deadline spoken out loud. No ambiguity. Everyone hears their name and their date.
Summary forces synthesis One sentence to wrap up. This is hard to write but easy to speak. By the end of the meeting, you know what mattered. Just say it.
How to speak it
Don't try to say "hashtag" or "dash." Just say the label, pause, then say the content:
Spoken (what you actually say):
"Title. Project Alpha weekly sync.
Attendees. Alice, Ben, Priya.
Decisions. Keep the October launch. Cut the PDF export feature.
Actions. Ben owns empty state copy. Due Friday.
Risks. Vendor API quotas might hit limits. Mitigation: batch requests at night.
Next steps. Alice sends timeline update today.
Summary. Launch stays on track because we trimmed scope."
Result (what Brain Dump creates):
# Project Alpha weekly sync
## Attendees
Alice, Ben, Priya
## Decisions
- Keep the October launch
- Cut the PDF export feature
## Actions
- Owner: Ben. Due: Friday. Empty state copy
## Risks
- Vendor API quotas might hit limits. Mitigation: batch requests at night.
## Next Steps
- Alice sends timeline update today
## Summary
Launch stays on track because we trimmed scope.
Clean Markdown. Paste it into Notion, Jira, Slack, email — works everywhere.
When to use this
Weekly team syncs Standup meetings, sprint planning, retros. Any recurring meeting where decisions get made and action items accumulate.
Client calls Especially useful when you need to send notes immediately after. Record the meeting, paste into email, send before they leave the call.
1-on-1s with your manager Track what you committed to. What they committed to help with. Dates attached. Both of you have the same record.
Planning sessions Feature planning, roadmap discussions, architecture decisions. Capture decisions while they're fresh, before everyone forgets what was actually decided.
The talk track
Before the meeting starts, I have a 30-second script I follow:
"I'm going to voice-record notes today. You'll get the Markdown in Slack right after. Sound good?"
Nobody has ever said no. They're usually relieved someone is taking notes.
Then during the meeting:
- Open Brain Dump
- Speak the labels as we go
- Don't try to capture everything — just decisions, actions, risks
- Read back the actions before we hang up
That last part is critical. "Before we wrap, let me read the actions: Ben, you're doing X by Friday. Alice, you're doing Y by Monday. Did I miss anything?"
This is when people correct you, add things, or realize they over-committed.
What NOT to capture
Don't transcribe the entire conversation. That's not notes. That's a transcript.
Capture:
- What was decided (not how we got there)
- Who's doing what by when
- Risks we identified
- Next person to move
Skip:
- Long explanations
- Side conversations
- Jokes and small talk
- Detailed rationales (unless they're contentious decisions you need to document)
The goal is a note someone can scan in 30 seconds and know exactly what happened and what they need to do.
Common variations
For standups (simpler):
# Standup - [Date]
## Shipped yesterday
- [Thing]
## Shipping today
- [Thing]
## Blocked on
- [Thing]. Unblocking: [Who's helping]
For retros (reflection-focused):
# Retro - [Sprint/Date]
## What went well
- [Thing]
## What to improve
- [Thing]
## Actions
- Owner: [Name]. Due: [Date]. [What]
For planning (decision-heavy):
# [Feature] Planning
## Goal
[One sentence]
## Scope
- [In scope]
- [Out of scope]
## Open questions
- [Question]. Owner: [Who's researching]
## Next step
- [Who] does [what] by [when]
Pick the variation that fits your meeting type. Don't overcomplicate it.
Combining with the voice template
Want a full walkthrough of what to actually say during a meeting? See the meeting notes by voice blog post.
It includes:
- Talk track for starting the meeting
- How to handle crosstalk and interruptions
- Reading back actions for confirmation
- The "Priya war room" story about how this saved a slipping project
Where to paste it
The beauty of Markdown: it works everywhere.
Slack: Paste directly. Renders with formatting.
Notion: Paste as Markdown. Keeps structure.
Jira: Create a comment or description with the text.
Email: Most email clients render Markdown bullets and headers correctly enough.
Obsidian: It's already a .md file in your iCloud. Just link to it from your project notes.
VS Code / Text editor: Already Markdown. Nothing to convert.
The five-second share
After the meeting ends, I do this:
- Open the note in Brain Dump
- Tap "Copy" or "Share"
- Paste into Slack in the project channel
- Add one line: "Notes from today's sync. Shout if I missed anything."
- Done
Total time from end-of-meeting to shared-notes: 15 seconds.
People see their action items immediately. No waiting for me to "clean up the notes." No forgetting what was decided.
Why people trust these notes
Traditional meeting notes fail because they're either:
- Too detailed (nobody reads 3 pages)
- Too vague ("We discussed the timeline")
- Too slow (you get them two days later and the meeting is fuzzy)
This template works because:
- Short (fits in one screen)
- Specific (names, dates, concrete decisions)
- Fast (shared within 60 seconds of hanging up)
When people know they'll get clear notes immediately, they stop taking their own. That's when this system really clicks.
Download the template
Want a blank version to copy-paste?
# [Meeting Name] - [Date]
## Attendees
[Names]
## Decisions
-
## Actions
- Owner: [Name]. Due: [Date]. [What]
## Risks
- [Risk]. Mitigation: [Plan]
## Next Steps
-
## Summary
[One sentence]
Save that to a file. Reference it before meetings. Speak the labels. Fill in the content.
Related guides:
- Meeting notes by voice (full walkthrough) for the complete talk track
- Voice dictation tips for better transcription accuracy
- Markdown from voice for creating structure while speaking
Download: meeting-notes-template.md — Blank template you can copy