Tip #128
Meetings
3 min readTurn messy meeting notes into decisions and owners in 60 seconds
Time saved:35 min / meetingSkill level:BeginnerAI platforms:ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini · Copilot
The lesson
Most meeting summaries fail because they summarise conversation instead of extracting commitments. Ask the model for a decision ledger: what was decided, what is still open, who owns what, and by when. Force it to quote the source line for each item so nothing is invented.
Example
A 48-minute pipeline review transcript becomes 6 decisions, 4 open questions, and 9 owner-dated actions — pasted straight into your project tracker without editing.
Copy the prompt
You are my chief of staff. From the meeting notes below, produce:
1. DECISIONS — what was actually agreed (quote the supporting line)
2. OPEN QUESTIONS — unresolved items and who must resolve them
3. ACTIONS — owner, action, due date (infer date only if stated)
4. RISKS — anything that could derail the above
Rules: never invent an owner or date. Mark unknowns as [UNASSIGNED].
Output as compact markdown tables.
NOTES:
"""
{{paste transcript or notes}}
"""Takeaway
Summaries inform. Decision ledgers move work. Always ask AI for commitments, owners and dates — not prose.