Send meeting notes: an annotated email example
Send the meeting notes to the team.
The situation
You've just left the kickoff meeting. Decisions: the website launches on March 12, the $15k budget is approved, Julie is preparing the client deck. Next check-in: Friday 9am.
Six busy people who want to find the decisions at a glance without reliving the whole meeting.
The winning structure
A good email for this situation includes these elements, in this order:
- A greeting with the recipient's first name.
- Launch date (March 12)
- Approved budget ($15k)
- Who does what (Julie)
- Next check-in (Friday)
- A clear ask at the end: a question or an action with a deadline.
- A short sign-off, then your name.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out launch date (March 12) : « So when are we launching? »
- Leaving out approved budget ($15k) : « Was the budget approved or not? »
- Leaving out who does what (Julie) : « Who's doing the deck? Nobody knows. »
- Leaving out next check-in (Friday) : « When do we meet again? »
- Opening with padding ("I hope this email finds you well") instead of getting to the point.
- A vague subject line like "Question" or "Request".
Write your own version: the recipient reacts and you get a score out of 100.
The annotated example
Try it yourself first: you'll remember more. Click to show the example.
Hi all,
- Group greeting: right for a team.
Here are the decisions from this morning's kickoff:
- Website launch: March 12
- $15k budget approved
- Julie is preparing the client deck
- Includes: launch date (March 12).
- Includes: approved budget ($15k).
- Includes: who does what (Julie).
- Bullet list: readable at a glance.
Next check-in: Friday at 9am. Please flag anything I missed before then.
- Includes: next check-in (Friday).
- Clear ask: the reader knows what to do.
Best,
Alex
- Short sign-off, then the name.
Why it works : 40 words against a target of 110, 4 words per sentence on average, no filler phrases.